MEERUT: BJP MLA Sangeet Som escaped an attack at his residence at in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district by assailants who fired and hurled a grenade in the wee hours on Thursday.
None was injured in the attack following which five policemen deputed for the MLA’s security were suspended for dereliction of duty.
Police said empty cartridges and an unpinned hand grenade lying under one of the escort vehicles of the Sardhana MLA’s fleet were found on the spot. Luckily, the grenade didn’t explode.
The assailants targeted the cabin of security guards and the main gate of the MLA’s residence located on RA Lines under the Lal Kurti Police station area in Meerut. Som had returned home around an hour before the attack that took place at about 1 am.
Som, an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, is a Z category protectee.
One of the guards said a man got down from a four-wheeler and started firing at the guard’s cabin indiscriminately. “After firing, he lobbed a hand grenade and sped away in the vehicle,” said the security guard.
Som denied having received any prior threat or call regarding the attack. “I don’t know much about the details as I was about to sleep when the guard told me about the incident,” he said, adding that as he went outside, all senior police and district administration officers had reached and the probe was already on.
SSP Akhilesh Kumar, SP City Meerut Ranvijay Singh, senior IB officials rushed to the MLA’s home. Forensic officials and sniffer dogs also reached the spot. The bomb squad was called in to defuse the grenade.