Shahjahanpur (UP), Aug 2 (PTI) The murder of a 22-year-old man triggered a protest during which markets remained shut, and protesters blocked the Palia-Farrukhabad highway for nearly eight hours, demanding the demolition of the accused’s house and ₹1 crore compensation for the victim’s family, officials said on Sunday.
Police said Gautam Maurya (22), a resident of Kant town, was allegedly stabbed to death on Friday night by Sameer Ali and his associates after Maurya uploaded a photograph of himself with the accused’s sister on Instagram on July 12.
Superintendent of Police Saurabh Dixit said the accused was injured in an alleged police encounter after attacking a team that took him to recover the murder weapon. Police fired in self-defence, and a bullet hit his right leg, he said.
According to police, after committing the crime, the accused also uploaded an Instagram status featuring the victim’s photograph after the murder.
The incident triggered protests outside the Kant police station on Saturday, where the victim’s family staged a sit-in. Members of several Hindu organisations joined the protest, leading to a market shutdown and a highway blockade, police said.
They said some protesters attempted to target shops belonging to members of another community, but security personnel dispersed them. During the blockade, traffic was diverted via the Bareilly route from Bareilly Mod and Jalalabad.
Superintendent of Police Saurabh Dixit and other senior officials persuaded the protesters to lift the highway blockade, and the victim’s last rites were performed on Sunday morning amid heavy security, police said.
Additional District Magistrate Rajneesh Kumar Mishra said the protesters sought Rs 1 crore compensation for the victim’s family and the demolition of the accused’s house.
He said the compensation demand had been forwarded to the state government.
The SP said police were closely monitoring social media and warned of strict action against those posting communal or inflammatory content. PTI COR CDN ASD ASD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.