A special MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday approved the prosecution’s request to withdraw a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots against 25 Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and persons associated with Hindutva groups, PTI reported.

Communal violence had erupted in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013 after BJP leaders, including Suresh Rana, former party MLA Sangeet Som and former MP Bharatendra Singh, allegedly made inflammatory speeches.

At least 60 persons were killed and thousands of Muslim families were displaced in the riots that followed. There were also several reports of sexual assault and abuse in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.

Among the accused persons facing charges in the present case were state minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan and former state minister Suresh Rana. Others include former Uttar Pradesh minister Ashok Kataria, ex-BJP MPs Bhartendu Singh and Sohanvir Singh, former BJP MLAs Ashok Kansal and Umesh Malik, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi and Narsinghanand of Dasna Shiv Temple.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad is part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

The accused persons were facing trial for allegedly violating prohibitory orders, obstructing public servants in the discharge of their duties and inciting communal tension through speeches at a mahapanchayat held at Nagla Mador in the district on July 31, 2013, PTI quoted prosecution officer Rahul Singh as saying.

The prosecution moved the application following the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to withdraw the case.

In February, a court in Uttar Pradesh acquitted 37 individuals in connection with the killing of eight persons during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, citing a lack of evidence.

Edited by Sneha.

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