UP: Village head killed, residents go on rampage, boy dies
In a gory incident reported from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, the head of a village was shot dead yesterday, following which a mob went on a rampage, torching vehicles and ransacking a police station. The village head named Satyameva Jayate (Pappu Ram) was shot six times during the day. Reportedly, the accused visited the victim's house and informed his family about his demise.
Deceased belonged to SC community, police rushed to scene
After the mindless violence, a heavy police force was rushed to the site but tensions are still simmering. According to several reports, a child lost his life when the mob frenzy was underway. Jayate was killed within 500 meter of his home by known men. He reportedly belonged to the SC/ST community and his family will receive 50% of the compensation under SC/ST Act.
Hunt for accused on, police officials suspended
The accused have been identified as Golu Singh and Priyanshu. Azamgarh DIG Subhash Chandra Dubey said that he had instructed the Superintendent of Police to arrest them "within 12 hours." He also said that there were two more people allegedly involved in the murder. Following the incident, police officials Shiv Bhajan and Tarwa Manjay Kumar have been suspended from duty.
"Will identify causes of child's death soon"
The nine-year-old boy who died in the stampede has been identified as Suraj. According to a report in Indian Express, he was killed in the stampede which ensued when the mob ran towards the police outpost. "More details regarding the death of the child will come out after post-mortem," said DIG Dubey. The protesters were around 100-150 in number, he said.
CM Yogi ordered registration of case under NSA
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken the case into cognizance and directed state officials to file a case under the National Security Act (NSA). A case has also been filed under the Gangster Act, according to a tweet by a government agency, reported by ANI. The CM has declared a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh each for families of Suraj and Jayate.
This was second sarpanch-related incident to happen in two days
This incident is the latest in a series of such gun violence-related incidents in the state of Uttar Pradesh and especially the Azamgarh district. Just yesterday, PTI reported that a man along with his son was shot dead, allegedly by the husband of the Rashulpur Dudhar village sarpanch. The accused in the incident Lalbahadur Yadav and deceased Hiralal, both had criminal backgrounds, police said.
Similar incidents took place in June and July
In July, three members of a village sarpanch's family were shot dead in Kasganj district's Hodalpur village. Before that, on June 27, TOI reported that a village head was shot dead in the same fashion as the latest incident, in a village in the Ambedkar Nagar division of UP. Later, the two accused were lynched by a mob.
