Ghazipur Violence: 11 Arrested After Stone-Pelting Mob Kills Police Officer Suresh Vats
Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav lambasted the Yogi Adityanath government over the death of another police officer in the state.
Lucknow, December 30: At least 11 suspects have been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police in connection to the killing of police officer Suresh Vats on Saturday. The accused were part of the mob which pelted stones on the police after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Ghazipur. Vats had suffered fatal injuries in the stone-pelting.
"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," ADG Varanasi zone, PV Rama Sastry said.
The stone-pelting agitators are suspected to be from the Nishad community, which had organised massive protests ahead of Modi's rally, demanding an increase in their share of reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.
Nishad Party chief Sanjay Kumar Nishad, however, refuted the charge of protesters affiliated to his outfit being involved in the stone-pelting incident.
Notably, the Nishads -- who form a major section of the population in eastern Uttar Pradesh -- are included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The community has, over the past four years, been demanding an increased share of quota allocated to them under the OBC bloc.
Former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav lambasted the Yogi Adityanath government over the death of another police officer in the state. Holding the CM responsible, Yadav alleged that he has ingrained the culture of violence in the state.
"This incident happened because whenever the CM speaks -- either in the assembly or at a public event -- he says 'thok do'. At times, the police fails to comprehend, at other times, the people fail to understand," he said.
On December 3, a frenzied mob ended up killing a policeman, Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, after finding carcasses of cow in Bulandshahr. While some of the accused are still on the run, the police has arrested the key suspect - identified as Prashant Natt - who is charged of pulling the trigger on the cop.
After Vats death, his son VP Singh questioned the safety of police personnel in the state. He asked the state government to explain why such an incident occurred despite a police officer being killed in Bulandshahr days earlier. "What will we do with compensation now," he further added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2018 01:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).