UP: Death Of Policeman In Ghazipur, Main Accused In The FIR Blames BJP For The Mishap

On December 29, Suresh Pratap Singh Vats, a 48-year-old head constable, was killed in clashes that erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur area. The incident happened hours after PM Modi attended an event in the city. After the PM’s event, some protestors from Nishad Party, an ally of Samajwadi Party staged a protest and blocked the roads demanding Scheduled Caste status for the Nishad caste. Amid the protest, clashes erupted, and the protestors started pelting stones that claimed the life of a police constable and injured two civilians. In the latest development the Nishad Party leader Arjun Kashyap, who is named as the main accused in the FIR, has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the incident.

A video has surfaced that shows head constable Suresh Pratap Singh Vats at the protesting site. In the 10 minutes and a 28-second video, he can be seen as the clashes break out.

ADG Varanasi zone, PV Rama Sastry on Ghazipur stone pelting incident that claimed life of a police constable yesterday: Till now, 11 people have been arrested. According to the CMO, the reason of death of the constable is head injury. Post-mortem report is awaited. pic.twitter.com/oA54tQ2Bmm

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) December 30, 2018

The incident

As reported by the Times Now, a police official said that a team of policemen were trying to control the traffic at Ghazipur after Prime Minister Modi’s rally, when some Nishad party supporters, who were blocking the road by their demonstration, started to argue with the policemen. The agitated mob then began attacking the policemen by pelting stones at them and was also destroying vehicles. Vats, who was injured on his head and was bleeding severely, succumbed to his injuries before more police force reached the place to nab the perpetrators. According to the sources, Vats was posted at Karimuddinpur police station.

Till now the Uttar Pradesh police had arrested 27 people in connection with the violence till December 30. According to the P Pathak, CO City, Ghazipur, “Till now, 32 people have been named in the FIR… 70-80 unnamed people are also mentioned in the FIR,” as reported by The Quint.

“BJP to be blamed”

According to the media reports, Nishad Party leader, Kashyap and the prime accused said that his party workers wanted to attend the election Rath Yatra after PM Modi addressed an event. He said that a BJP member came and started hurling abuses. He claimed that the BJP party worker then thrashed many of his workers and started pelting stones.

Compensation for kins

The UP cop Vats is survived by his wife and three children. After the incident, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a compensation of Rs 40 lakh to the bereaved family. He has also directed the district magistrate and SSP to immediately investigate the matter, as reported by The Times Of India.

This is the second time when a police inspector has lost his life as a consequence of mob agitation in UP within a short span of time. Earlier in Bulandshahr case, another cop was killed after riots like situation occurred in the area, December 3.

However, the BJP MP Udit Raj is not ready to accept that these incidents are occurring in UP due to the breakdown of law and order. According to him, the death of Vats is an isolated incident and it has no relation with the death of the police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Bulandshahar. He has also said that it is not unusual for this kind of incidents to occur in a big state like Uttar Pradesh, reports The Quint.

Also Read: Bulandshahr Violence: Delhi Taxi Driver Arrested For Killing Inspector