LUCKNOW: An 11th-grade student, Akash Nishad, was beaten to death by a mob following a bike collision while he was returning home with his friends after watching Durga Puja celebrations in Gorakhpur on Monday night.
Akash’s bike collided with another motorcycle in Sahjanwa tehsil around 10 pm on Monday. As the accident drew attention, locals rushed to the spot. In a fit of rage, they surrounded Akash and brutally assaulted him.
The victim was rushed to BRD Medical College where doctors declared him brought dead upon arrival.
According to local sources, Akash Nishad, 19, a resident of Pali Bankatwa village, had gone with friends to witness the Durga Puja festivities in Sahjanwa. While returning around 10:30 pm, their bike collided with another motorcycle near Cinema Road in Sahjanwa.
Following the crash, a crowd gathered at the spot and began assaulting the youths. Akash was beaten so brutally that he was left unconscious. His friends, Nikki, 12, Vishal, 15, and Ranjit, 15, were also thrashed.
Acting on a tip-off from passers-by, police arrived at the scene and informed the family concerned. The injured were taken to BRD Medical College, where doctors declared Akash dead.
In the early hours of Tuesday, around 3 am, Akash’s family and relatives kept the body outside the medical college and staged a protest near a petrol pump on Nausad Road, blocking the road and demanding justice.
Akash’s father, Dilip Kumar Nishad, alleged foul play, stating that it was not an accident. “People deliberately murdered my son,” said the distraught father.
The situation was eventually brought under control after police assured the family of strict action. They created a commotion, demanding justice. Police officials intervened and tried to pacify them. The demonstration lasted for nearly an hour before the family relented, following assurances of strict action.
According to Sahjanwa Station In-charge Mahesh Chaubey, a case was being registered based on the family’s complaint. He said an investigation would be carried out, and action would follow against the culprits.