#DHRecaps | UP marked by SP-BSP parlé, Hanuman

The killing of a cop by a saffron mob, the new-found bonhomie between SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati and Lord Hanuman kept Uttar Pradesh in the limelight in 2018.

The year also saw the mysterious and unresolved death of Karnataka IAS officer Anurag Tewari, killing of Apple executive Vivek Tiwari by a police constable, booking of a BJP MLA on charges of raping minor, communal violence in Kasganj and the BJP's humiliating defeat in three Lok Sabha by-polls in the state.

The arrest of international golfer Jyoti Randhawa on charges of poaching in a protected forest area also made headlines in 2018.

Subodh Kumar Singh, the in-charge of Syana police station in Bulandshahr district, was killed when a mob of mostly saffron activists, attacked police outpost following the recovery of animal bones in a sugarcane field earlier this month. The killing triggered nationwide outrage.

Earlier in the year, the state was shaken by the mysterious death of Karnataka IAS officer Anurag Tewari. Tewari's body was found lying on the road near a government guest house in Lucknow. The murder mystery is still not solved.

In February this year, BJP legislator Kuldeep Sengar was arrested on charges of raping a minor in Unnao district.

The year also saw communal violence at Kasganj in Etah district, in which one person was killed.

Apple executive Vivek Tiwari was shot dead by a police constable in the state capital in September when he failed to stop his vehicle.

The year would also be remembered for an encounter spree by the state government. Around 1,000 encounters took place this year, in which several "criminals" were gunned down. They also invited flak from the rights bodies after complaints of fake encounters.

As many as 83 ex-bureaucrats demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his reported failure to maintain law and order in the state and creating an atmosphere of fear and hatred.

On the political front, the year witnessed several significant developments in the state, that sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati signalled formation of a grand alliance to counter the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with other Opposition parties, though the inclusion of the Congress remained suspense.

The SP and the BSP have hinted that they have stitched an alliance in the state with the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) of Ajit Singh.

The SP-BSP alliance managed to inflict a humiliating defeat on the BJP in the three LS by-polls in Gorakhpur, the hometown of Yogi Adityanath, Phulpur, the LS constituency of deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Kairana.

The year also witnessed an unusual controversy surrounding Lord Hanuman after Adityanath reportedly termed the former a "Dalit". Lord Hanuman later found several claimants, who termed him a "tribal" and even a "Muslim."

Scheduled Caste outfits claimed ownership of Hanuman temples across the state after Adityanath's remarks. At some places, members of the SC community forcibly removed the priest and assumed charge of these temples prompting the police to intervene.