<p class="title">The Uttar Pradesh government's attempts to withdraw cases against the BJP leaders, who were accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots hit a roadblock when the district magistrate declined to withdraw the cases citing legal and administrative reasons.</p>.<p class="title">According to sources here, district magistrate Rajiv Sharma in his report to the state government said that a majority of the cases in which senior BJP leaders, including former Union minister Sanjiv Baliyan, party MLA Sangeet Som, were accused, are currently pending in the court.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The state government had a few months ago sought a report from the district magistrate on withdrawal of what it termed "political cases" against the senior BJP leaders.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government's decision was prompted by demands from powerful khap (community panchayat) leaders, especially those from the Jat community, to withdraw what they termed fake cases against the community members.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The khap leaders had a few months ago organised a mahapanchyat and threatened to launch an agitation if their demand was not met.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> "While in some cases closure reports have been filed, some others are in the court," said a senior district official in Muzaffarnagar on Sunday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP leaders here refused to comment on the report saying that they had no idea on what grounds the district magistrate had rejected the withdrawal.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Sunil Singh, however, welcomed the rejection saying that the BJP government tried to shield the riot accused and stood exposed today.</p>
<p class="title">The Uttar Pradesh government's attempts to withdraw cases against the BJP leaders, who were accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots hit a roadblock when the district magistrate declined to withdraw the cases citing legal and administrative reasons.</p>.<p class="title">According to sources here, district magistrate Rajiv Sharma in his report to the state government said that a majority of the cases in which senior BJP leaders, including former Union minister Sanjiv Baliyan, party MLA Sangeet Som, were accused, are currently pending in the court.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The state government had a few months ago sought a report from the district magistrate on withdrawal of what it termed "political cases" against the senior BJP leaders.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government's decision was prompted by demands from powerful khap (community panchayat) leaders, especially those from the Jat community, to withdraw what they termed fake cases against the community members.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The khap leaders had a few months ago organised a mahapanchyat and threatened to launch an agitation if their demand was not met.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> "While in some cases closure reports have been filed, some others are in the court," said a senior district official in Muzaffarnagar on Sunday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">BJP leaders here refused to comment on the report saying that they had no idea on what grounds the district magistrate had rejected the withdrawal.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Sunil Singh, however, welcomed the rejection saying that the BJP government tried to shield the riot accused and stood exposed today.</p>