MUZAFFARNAGAR/NEW DELHI: At a time when it is having to fend off attacks from Muslim outfits for failing to control communal clashes in western UP, the ruling Samajwadi Party is, ironically, under fire also from Jats for its alleged partisanship towards members of the minority community.

Residents of Jat-dominated villages of Bawali and Khanjpura told the visiting Congress leaders that the communal conflagration was sparked by the alleged interference of UP minister and SP bigwig Azam Khan with the police investigation into the clash between two groups of youth.

Residents of the two villages regretted the clashes as unfortunate, and claimed that the community decided to hold a mahapanchayat in reaction after Khan pressured UP cops into deleting the name of two accused from the FIR they initially filed in the case of the murders of Sachin and Gaurav at Kawal village.

That made the community lose faith in the fairness of the administration, leading the situation to spin out of control.

Significantly, Khan had angrily reacted to the visit of Congress leaders, dubbing it a political gimmick.