Yogi Adityanath Says Sonbhadra Accused Is SP Member; Party Accuses Him of Evading Blame

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday blamed the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party for the Sonbhadra killings, in which 10 people died last week. During a visit to Umbha village in the district, he claimed that the main accused, the village head, was an active SP member and that his brother worked for the BSP.

The chief minister’s claims

Adityanath said both men had been arrested and described the incident as the result of a political conspiracy and lawlessness. He said those shedding “crocodile tears” should apologise to the tribal community, since the dispute had begun during their time in office.

Compensation and relief

Compensation for each bereaved family was raised to Rs 18.5 lakh from Rs 5 lakh, while the injured will now get Rs 2.5 lakh instead of Rs 50,000. He also promised houses for SC/ST families in Sonbhadra, and, for the affected villages, a police post, a fire tender centre and an anganwadi centre.

Reactions

The SP rejected the claim and said the main accused had nothing to do with the party. Senior SP leader and spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary accused the chief minister of making false statements to hide his own failures and of shrugging off responsibility because he could not run the government.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra welcomed the chief minister’s visit, saying it was his duty to stand by the victims and that she was glad he had recognised it. She said she hoped the victims would now get justice and that their five demands would be met.

Priyanka had been held in preventive custody on Friday on her way to Sonbhadra, after a stand-off lasting 24 hours with Mirzapur officials. She spent the night at the Chunar fort guest house, where officials eventually allowed the victims’ families to meet her.

See also: Samajwadi Party | BSP

Originally published on 22 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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