Suresh Rana
Suresh Rana is presently the Member of Legislative (MLA) of Thanabhawan assembly constituency for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. This is his second term as the MLA from the constituency.
He was one of the accused of inciting anti-Muslim violence during the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013 that left at least 62 people dead, mostly Muslims, and displaced 50,000 people.
Rana was accused of giving inflammatory speeches against Muslims, violating prohibitory orders, holding a mahapanchayat without obtaining permission from the district administration, creating an obstruction to deter public servants from performing their duty, and setting a motorcycle on fire.
He was arrested on September 21, 2013, on charges under sections 188 (knowingly disobeying orders to maintain public order), 153 A (promoting enmity between groups on the basis of religion), 353 (provoking with intent to cause riots), and 435 (damage to property) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and criminal law amendment act, which is a non-bailable offense. But he was granted bail soon after.
In 2019, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government accorded cabinet rank to Rana despite pending Muzaffarnagar riots cases against him.
In March 2021, charges against Rana and other Hindutva leaders were dropped after the BJP government submitted a plea in the local court.
Reference:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/muzaffarnagar-riots-bjp-mla-up-7117491/