Mathura's largest public park - Jawahar Bagh - turned into an inferno of chaos, fire and devastation on June 2. 24 people, including 2 senior policemen, were killed when the police tried to free the 268-acre park from the followers of the cult - Swadhin Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah. The squatters had been illegally occupying the land since the last two years.

Almost immediately after last week's violence, the Uttar Pradesh government blamed the local intelligence failure for the bloodbath.

However, an India Today investigation has now revealed that the incident had nothing to do with intelligence failure. Infact, the state administration had specific inputs about the disaster which was waiting to happen but the information was dismissed by the state's top bosses.

Undercover reporters of India Today's Special Investigation Team met some of the people associated with the local intelligence network in Mathura. Shocking details have emerged during our investigation.

Mathura violence: Fallen kingdom of Ram Vriksh Yadav



India Today team firt met Munni Lal Gaur, Chief of Local Intelligence Unit, Mathura. Visibly anguished by the accusations that his department slept over intelligence reports, Gaur revealed that UP's top brass was alerted over the impending danger repeatedly.

Several huts caught fire after clashes between police and encroachers who were being evicted from Jawahar Bagh (PTI Photo) Several huts caught fire after clashes between police and encroachers who were being evicted from Jawahar Bagh (PTI Photo)

Inspector Gaur claimed that he sent his inputs not once or twice but 80 times to the UP government.

HERE'S WHAT GAUR SAID:

Gaur: Everything is in writing. We despatched 80 reports, consisting of demi-official letters and notes. There were 80 such reports of 250-300 pages. They were sent on different dates. Sometimes, we despatched four reports, sometimes five in a single month, depending on the situation. But no one paid any attention.

(Gaur also showed copies of his intelligence dossiers on the Mathura cult)

Gaur: This is one report I'd sent almost daily. This is about illegal weapons (stockpiled at Jawahar Bagh). See... it's tagged. We reported this matter first on January 23, 2015. This is a sox page report.

It is mentioned here that men, women and children linked to the cult carry three-foot bamboo flags and are battle-ready. It's also learned that they are armed with illegal weapons, which they won't mind using when required.

Gaur then pulled out a report he claimed was sent by the local district magistrate and the SSP to the state's home secretary in Lucknow. The document contained his intelligence inputs on Jawahar Bagh.

DGP Javed Ahmed inspecting the arms recovered from the Jawarhar Bagh encroachers (PTI Photo) DGP Javed Ahmed inspecting the arms recovered from the Jawarhar Bagh encroachers (PTI Photo)

See this... this one... the DM and the SSP sent to the home secretary. The biggest thing here is it quotes the report of the inspector of the LIU.

Mathura cult received financial aid from Naxal-hit zones, claims police

India Today reporter: Does it mention everything date-wise that you reported?



Gaur: Get all that from the DM. The DM will give it. Fifteen reports were sent to the administration, which have our reports attached to them.



Reporter: So, the DM sent them to the administration?



Gaur: All reports were sent daily, with our reports attached to them. This is from September 6, November 10, 2014... now this is of 2015. An incident of assault occurred on January 13 and this is the report about it sent on Janury 25.



The revelations totally destroy UP government's claims of an intelligence lapse at the local level in Mathura.

India Today then went on to meet sub-inspector Sunil Kumar Tomar, who was stationed outside Jawahar Bagh. What Tomar told India Today will is astonishing. The cop said he had zero orders to act despite him observing the cult members roaming freely brandishing guns and arms.

Tomar said the Mathura police were ordered only to stand guard outside the cult camp at Jawahar Bagh.

HERE'S WHAT TOMAR SAID:

Reporter: So, isn't it your failure if you didn't know weapon supplies were coming in here?

Tomar: What failure? We knew criminals are sitting here. But we had no powers to arrest. We were not allowed to act.



EXPLOSIVE CLAIM

The cop also claimed that plans were afoot to officially lease out entire park to its illegal occupier, cult-leader Ram Vriksh Yadav.

Mathura violence: 11 rioters died in fire set to their own shacks

Tomar: The lease was about to be finalized. It stopped only because the lawyers took the matter to the high court. 270 acres mean a lot. This land is worth billions of rupees. That's why there wasn't any action.

RAM VRIKSH'S BRUTALITY EXPOSED

After Tomar, India Today met constable Manoj Yadav. He had more disturbing story to tell about his first-hand experience with cult-leader Ram Vriksh Yadav's brutality.

Yadav said that a police team was thrashed when it entered the park in 2014 to make inquiries about the cult's illegal occupation.



Manoj Yadav: He (Ram Vriksh Yadav) would give no information. His behaviour was extremely bad. There were three station officers and one circle officer in the team. When they asked why he had built a gate, he shouted at us and hurled abuses. It was 1.30 am... they started beating us with heavy bamboo sticks.



Reporter: Really?



Manoj Yadav: Yes, we were beaten up badly. It didn't happen once. It happened three or four times.



From what police officials and the park's contractor told our undercover reporters it appears clear that Ram Vriksh Yadav, who was killed in the June 2 violence, operated like a fearless king from the Mathura park. It's absolutely certain that he was shielded and protected by higher forces.

Was it political protection that gave Ram Vriksh Yadav the astonishing impunity to lay siege to a public park, beat up policemen, and then declare all out war on them?

Could the June incident have been stopped had the Samajwadi Party government acted with sincerity to the killer threat from the Jawahar Bagh? Only an independent and thorough probe can answer these questions.

Also Read:

Supreme Court rejects plea seeking CBI probe into Mathura violence



UP govt appoints new DM, SSP for violence-hit Mathura

