Bahujan Samaj Party Lok Sabha member Uma Kant Yadav was arrested on Wednesday on charges of razing down some shops and houses while trying to forcibly occupy a piece of land in a village in Azamgarh district.

Yadav was arrested after he came out from the official residence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati at Kalidas Marg, police sources said. He has been kept at Hazratganj police station.

A case has been registered against Yadav, the MP from Machlishahar in neighbouring Jaunpur district, his son and some supporters after they allegedly razed some houses and shops in Phulpur area in Azamgarh district on Tuesday.

They also allegedly fired in the air.

Protesting against the incident, local people blocked traffic on the Lucknow-Azamgarh highway on Tuesday.

The MP and his supporters allegedly wanted to occupy by force the land on which the shops and houses had been built. They had allegedly asked the owner to sell the property, sources said.

When the owner refused, they brought bulldozers and razed the houses and shops, the sources claimed.