Uttarakhand: Congress MLA's son attacked by masked men

Rudrapur, Jan 18 (PTI) Saurabh Raj Behar, son of Congress MLA Tilak Raj Behar and a councilor of the Rudrapur Municipal Corporation in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district, was attacked by three masked assailants on Sunday, police said.

Saurabh was admitted to the hospital in serious condition, they said.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to MLA Behar over the phone after receiving information about the incident and ordered an investigation into the matter.

The police said Saurabh had left his home to go to the police outpost on Sunday evening when the incident occurred in the Awas Vikas area.

According to the police, three masked men on a motorcycle attacked him with sticks and rods and fled the scene.

Saurabh was immediately admitted to the hospital in serious condition, where he has been kept in the ICU due to his critical condition.

According to doctors, Saurabh's condition remains serious, and his health is being constantly monitored.

Tilak Raj Behar is the MLA from Kichha and a former cabinet minister of the state. Saurabh is his younger son.

As soon as the news of the incident spread, there was a commotion in the area, and a large number of leaders of political parties, office-bearers of social organisations, and Behar's supporters reached the hospital.

The Congress MLA accused the police administration of calling his son to the police outpost under the pretext of a compromise and then carrying out a pre-planned attack on him.

“My son Saurabh was called under a pre-planned conspiracy under the pretext of a panchayat (village council meeting) and a life-threatening attack was carried out on him. This is a clear failure of law and order. If the police do not arrest the attackers soon, I will myself search for the attackers with my supporters," the MLA said.

Saurabh had an argument with a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a few days ago, and the police had summoned him to the police station to resolve the dispute.

Former MLA Rajkumar Thukral strongly condemned the incident.

He said that differences of opinion are natural in politics, but this kind of open hooliganism will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Upon receiving information about the incident, Municipal Corporation Mayor Vikas Sharma and Rudrapur MLA Shiv Arora also reached the hospital and met with Tilak Raj Behad.

The police said that an investigation into the matter has been initiated and a search is underway for the attackers. PTI DPT NB