Hapur: While denying that this was a case of lynching, police in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district have taken two suspects in custody for the murder of a Muslim man who was allegedly assaulted following an altercation with a group of local residents Tuesday evening.
Sandeep Kumar, station officer (SO), Bahadurgarh police station, confirmed to ThePrint Wednesday that the two prime suspects in the case, Deepak and Manish, have been taken into custody and more arrests are likely.
The incident in question took place around 7.30 pm Tuesday when the victim, Irshad, was crossing the market area in Luhari village — not far from the Ramlila ground — on his motorcycle. According to Singh, Irshad “accidentally hit one of the accused with his motorcycle” following which a group of locals gathered at the spot and thrashed him. One Waseem was also injured after the crowd turned against him for trying to save Irshad.
Upon their arrival on the scene, the police rushed Irshad to a community health centre where he succumbed to his injuries.
An FIR was then registered at the Bahadurgarh police station against six individuals namely Deepak, Dinesh, Manish, Yogesh, Gagan and Sushant under sections 302 (murder), 147 (rioting) and 148 (rioting with deadly weapon) of the IPC, said Kumar.
थाना बहादुरगढ़ क्षेत्रांतर्गत ग्राम लुहारी में मोटर साइकिल टकराने को लेकर 02 पक्षों में हुई मारपीट में घायल युवक की दौराने उपचार मृत्यु होने की घटना के संबंध में पुलिस अधीक्षक @vermaabhishek25 महोदय की बाइट..!
.@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/FLIcZsLeMx
— HAPUR POLICE (@hapurpolice) October 24, 2023
Asked if this was a case of mob lynching, Kumar denied the suggestion and instead termed it a “simple case of road rage”.
Furthermore, on media reports highlighting that the incident took place near the local Ramlila Maidan during Dussehra celebrations, Kumar said the revelry had “ended long before the incident”.
He also told ThePrint that the area where violence broke out between groups of Hindus and Muslims following Irshad’s death is not considered a sensitive area.
“The area where this incident happened is not considered sensitive, so it was a surprise when the situation suddenly escalated into a communal clash after the death of the victim,” said Kumar, adding that the police brought the situation under control and do not expect any more flare-ups.
Irshad’s father Imamuddin, a mason, has demanded that the police arrest all five accused in the case. At the same time, villagers in Luhari are seeking compensation for the family of the deceased.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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