LUCKNOW: In all 19 persons were arrested on Sunday against three FIRs lodged in connection with the violence, rioting and killing of head constable Suresh Vats in Ghazipur on Saturday. Moreover, 22 persons were detained by the district police and interrogation was on in the case, said the police sources here on Sunday.
According to Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh, 11 of 19 persons were held for killing the constable and rest 8 for violence and trouble making. Total 32 persons were named in the FIR lodged for Vats’ murder.
Notably, head constable Suresh Vats (48) was killed on Saturday when protesters of Nishad Party, an ally of Samajwadi Party, hurled stones at vehicles returning after attending Prime Minister Narendra Modi public rally in Ghazipur. The slain head constable sustained a grievous injury when a stone hurled at him by the angry mob hit him on head. The cop was leading a police team to end the traffic jam by evicting Nishads who had squatted on state highway while protesting in support of their demand for reservation. They were also demanding the district administration to release three of their aides.
On the other, the bereaved son of the slain cop, said the compensation provided by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was meaningless as he would not get his father back with it. He also deplored the state police for its failure to protect its own in face of violence.
In UP, murder of Vats is the second such incident within a month. Early on December 3, inspector Subodh Kumar Singh was killed by an angry mob in Bulandshahr. Inspector Singh was shot when he trying to placate the mob of villagers protesting over alleged cow slaughter.
Confirming the arrest of around a dozen persons for killing the cop, ADG Varanasi zone, PV Rama Sastry said that according to the Ghazipur CMO, the reason of death of the constable was believed to be head injury. Around 70-80 unidentified persons were booked for stone pelting and violence. Meanwhile, Ghazipur Superintendent of Police, Yashveer Singh claimed that protesters were workers of the Rashtriya
Nishad Party who were prevented by the administration and the police from going to the rally venue as they moving towards it.
"After the PM left Ghazipur, the protestors blocked traffic at various places and started pelting stones on the vehicles returning from the programme venue," said the SP. He added that to zero in the culprits video footages of the incident were being scanned.
Directing the district magistrate and the superintendent of police to take strict action against unruly elements and arrest them immediately, CM Yogi Adityanath had announced a compensation of Rs 40
lakh for the wife of Vats and Rs 10 lakh for his parents, the state has government said. Meanwhile, slamming the state government for alleged lawlessness, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attributed the incident to CM Yogi's encounter policy. “Whether he is in his office or on stage, he only supports encounters,” said Yadav
The unfortunate incident that happened on Saturday in Ghazipur could have been averted by the administration had it been alert, said the SP chief . “Also the local intelligence might have had inputs
about the planned protest. Even then the administration was busy with the PM’s programme and failed to assess the situation," Yadav said.