New Delhi: At least five criminal cases have been registered in Uttar Pradesh – four of them based on complaints by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders – in connection with alleged vandalism and rioting during nationwide protests which lead to the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday (July 25). Ten persons were arrested in Prayagraj, where three FIRs were lodged. The other two cases were filed in Bhadohi district, where nine individuals, many linked to the Samajwadi Party (SP), were booked under two separate FIRs for allegedly assaulting a BJP leader, damaging his car, and obstructing traffic during an “unauthorised protest march”.The Wire has reviewed copies of all five FIRs.Supreme Court directives to release demonstrators won’t apply, says ACPAssistant commissioner of police (ACP) (Civil Lines, Prayagraj) Vidyut Goyal told The Wire that Supreme Court directives ordering states to immediately release demonstrators and students without criminal antecedents would not apply to the three cases registered in the district. “The FIRs were not lodged against the student protesters, but against anarchic elements,” he said, confirming that ten people had been arrested over the alleged violence.Hours before Pradhan tendered his resignation following weeks of youth-led public protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, similar demonstrations were held across Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country. On Saturday, students and youth gathered in the heart of Prayagraj to protest against the NEET paper leak and competitive examination irregularities.Also read: Supreme Court Mulls SIT Probe on Use of Excessive Force, Orders Release of Student Protesters Without Criminal AntecedentsAll three FIRs filed in Prayagraj involved alleged attacks on BJP members and included serious charges of attempt to murder. In each case, the complaints were directed against “unknown” rioters or miscreants.In his complaint, Ravindra Kumar Jaiswal, co-convenor of the BJP’s trade cell in the Kashi region, said that on July 25 he was returning home via Subhash Chauraha when “hundreds of unruly students” stopped his vehicle because it displayed a BJP flag. Jaiswal alleged that members of the crowd, armed with lathis, rods, bricks, and stones, attacked him with the intent to kill, broke his car windows, and tried to pull him out. He said he managed to escape by driving forward, though he sustained injuries and his vehicle was damaged.Prashant Pathak, a BJP official from Rewa district in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, reported a similar encounter. He alleged that upon reaching Subhash Chauraha, a central business and political hub in Prayagraj, his car was also targeted because of its BJP flag. “The mob of miscreants attacked me shouting, ‘Kill them, kill them, BJP people, don’t let them go alive,’” Pathak stated. He alleged that his car was severely damaged, computers inside were stolen, and the crowd attempted to drag him out. “Because the door couldn’t be opened, the driver accelerated quickly, saving my life,” he noted in his complaint.Also read: Night Shifts at Jantar MantarThat FIR included charges of aggravated criminal intimidation, rioting, mischief, and theft.Another case involving charges of attempt to murder and rioting was registered based on a complaint by BJP leader Rohit Dwivedi, son of former BJP Lok Sabha MP Ramesh Dwivedi. Rohit stated that he arrived in Civil Lines in his SUV around 2 pm on July 25. After stepping out near a restaurant, his driver left the scene. About ten to 15 minutes later, the driver called to report that a “violent and unruly mob” had surrounded the car near a hotel, pelted it with bricks and stones, and overturned it. Rohit alleged that his driver was attacked with intent to kill and barely escaped adding that even after he arrived to assist his driver, the mob continued damaging the vehicle.‘None of them were students’Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Prayagraj City) Manish Kumar Shandilya stated that ten individuals were arrested so far for the Civil Lines violence after being identified using CCTV footage and videos.Shandilya clarified to local media that those arrested were “not students,” but instead included a fruit vendor, a hotel cleaner, and a history-sheeter. “None of them were students. They came to spoil the atmosphere and had little understanding of the issues being protested. Their sole intent was to cause public disturbance and disrupt law and order,” he said.Ram Ashray Yadav, Station House Officer (SHO) at Civil Lines police station, told The Wire that most of the ten persons arrested belonged to the Yadav and Muslim communities and were linked to the SP. “One was a mason, another a dairy worker, and one had dropped out of school. SP workers were also among them,” he said. “We are only taking action against those identified as indulging in violence and damaging public property.”In Bhadohi, an FIR was registered at Gyanpur police station based on a complaint by sub-inspector (SI) Pramod Singh Yadav against nine named individuals and 40 to 45 unidentified people for unlawful assembly and road obstruction. SI Yadav stated that while maintaining law and order near Raja Park during the protest against Dharmendra Pradhan, he learned that 70 to 80 people had blocked the Pal crossing by marching without permission, chanting “anti-government slogans” and disrupting traffic.Also read: Two Pellet Firing Victims Move Supreme Court Seeking Ban on Metallic Pellet Guns Against CiviliansThose named in the FIR included SP workers Vimal Mishra (alias Bhadohi wale Mishraji) and Chand Babu, alongside Shubham Yadav, Vikas Yadav, C.L. Yadav, Rizwan Ali, Rohan Yadav, Dheeraj Dubey, and Lucky Sonkar. They were booked for rioting and wrongful confinement.A second FIR was filed against the same group following a complaint by BJP leader Vinay Kumar Pandey (alias Gorelal), who alleged they vandalised his car and assaulted him. Gorelal stated that around 11:45 am on Saturday, while driving to the local BJP office near KNPG College and the Pal Trijunction, the accused shouted anti-government slogans, verbally abused him, threatened him, and shattered his car windows. He added that he was beaten and injured. “I barely managed to save my life and run away; otherwise, they would have killed me,” his complaint read.This FIR invoked charges including rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, and aggravated criminal intimidation.Vimal Mishra, named as the primary accused in both the Bhadohi cases, told The Wire that the allegations were baseless, accusing the BJP government of framing political opponents for peaceful demonstrations.Also read: After SC Interim Order on Protest FIRs, CJP Warns of Return to Streets as Govt Deadline NearsMishra stated he had participated in a non-partisan student protest against Pradhan and ruling alliance MLA Vipul Dubey, who himself faces allegations in a long-pending paper leak case. Mishra said he left after spending 15 to 20 minutes at the sit-in outside the college gate.“It was after we left that some boys threw water at Gorelal Pandey’s car as it passed by and mocked him with slogans. They also tore down some banners of the BJP,” Mishra said, denying any involvement in that incident.He added that his co-accused C.L. Yadav was in Mumbai on the day of the protest and Chand Babu was not present at the site.SP MLA Zahid Beg submitted a memorandum to the district administration requesting that the cases be withdrawn, maintaining that the protest was peaceful. “I can say with confidence that those named in the FIR did not leave the college gate. They were sitting there protesting peacefully,” Beg said. He also demanded that an investigation take place to find out under what circumstances Gorelal made those allegations while other BJP leaders who passed through the same route reported no such incident.