Members of the Tyagi community on Sunday assembled in support of Shrikant Tyagi, who was recently arrested on charges of abusing and assaulting a woman in a residential society in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Raising slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), hundreds came out in support of Tyagi, who identified himself as a national executive member of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha and national co-ordinator of the party’s Yuva Kisan Samiti. However, the BJP has denied having any links with him.

A heavy police force were deployed in the area to maintain law and order. Hundreds of community members - both young and old - from parts of western Uttar Pradesh like Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr, Baghpat and Hapur reached Ramlila ground in Gejha village for the ‘Mahapanchayat’, according to a report by News18. The community claimed that Tyagi has been charged under false sections and alleged the arrest has tarnished their image.

Tyagi was arrested by the police earlier this month for allegedly abusing and assaulting a woman on the premises of Grand Omaxe in Noida Sector 93B as they were caught on camera having an altercation over illegal construction and encroaching of common area space at the premise. Authorities later used bulldozers to demolish allegedly illegal portions of a ground floor apartment in the society.