Family, advocate of jailed SP MLA Irfan Solanki praises UP Chief Minister Adityanath

National President of the Samajwadi Party Akhilesh Yadav met Solanki in prison in December. The SP chief said that the MLA was innocent and was falsely put behind the bar for crimes he did not commit.

Kanpur (UP): The family and advocate of jailed Samajwadi Party MLA Irfan Solanki Friday praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and top officials of the Uttar Pradesh government, saying they are ensuring justice for all without any discrimination based on caste and creed. They, however, charged the lower rank police officials with implicating Solanki and his brother Rizwan in false cases. They also alleged that MLA was not being provided with any facility by the authorities of Maharajganj district jail.

At a press conference, Solanki's advocate Gaurav Dixit claimed that charges of land grab and extortion were made by Aqeel Khan, Mohammad Nasim Arif and Vimal Kumar, who themselves have a criminal history. "Them filing the case clearly suggests a police-criminal nexus," he said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and top officials are unbiased and are working to provide justice to all without any discrimination, Dikshit said.

Interacting with reporters, the SP MLA's wife, Naseem Solanki, alleged that Nazir Fatima who had lodged the FIR against SP MLA and his brother Rizwan had extorted Rs 15 lakhs a few months ago. She alleged that Rizwan paid Rs 12 lakh in cash and Rs 3 lakh through cheque in July last year. The Samajwadi Party MLA from Sisamau in Kanpur has been in prison since December 2.

He along with his brother Rizwan surrendered before the police commissioner after being booked for rioting and arson in a land dispute case. The MLA is also accused of using a fake Aadhaar card to fly from Delhi to Mumbai on November 11. Just a fortnight ago, the Kanpur police invoked the UP Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act against Solanki and his brother after a probe reportedly found the legislator had formed a gang which was involved in land grabbing and extortion.

The number of cases registered against the jailed MLA in a span of less than two months reached eight. The politician faces a total of 18 cases now. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who visited the MLA in prison on December 19, said Solanki was innocent and has been falsely implicated in criminal cases. Just hours after his meeting with Akhilesh Yadav, another FIR was filed against Solanki for allegedly "authorising" a Bangladeshi national and his family members as Indian nationals. (PTI)