Gorakhpur, Sep 16 (PTI) Tensions flared up in a Gorakhpur village on Tuesday as a confrontation between villagers and alleged cattle smugglers here spiralled into violence, leaving a 20-year-old NEET aspirant dead and a suspect critically injured.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Gorakhpur, has suspended the in-charge and entire staff of the Jungle Dhusar police outpost under the Pipraich Police Station with immediate effect.
Senior police officers were also injured in stone pelting when they tried to “rescue” the suspect who was being thrashed by angry villagers, prompting authorities to rush additional security forces to the violence-hit Mauachapi village located in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s pocket borough.
A village youth, abducted by some of the smugglers when they were trying to flee, was later found dead, following which villagers blocked the Gorakhpur-Pipraich Road and clashed with police.
Police said the youth died of a severe head injury and rejected reports that he had been shot. They said a case has been registered against six suspects who “are cattle smugglers”.
Adityanath assured that “the culprits will not be spared”, and senior officials arrived in the village to restore law and order.
The trouble began late on Monday night, when 10-12 “smugglers” arrived in two pickup vans and allegedly tried to break into a furniture shop belonging to one Durgesh Gupta, according to the police.
The shop’s upper floor housed a travel agency where a relative of Gupta was sleeping. On hearing the shutters being forced open, he alerted Durgesh’s son, Deepak.
Deepak rushed to the spot on a scooter, raising an alarm. Nearly 10-15 villagers followed him. Startled, the smugglers opened fire and tried to flee. During the chaos, they dragged Deepak into one of their vehicles and sped away.
Meanwhile, villagers caught hold of one smuggler, torched his vehicle and thrashed him severely.
When police personnel reached the scene and attempted to rescue the injured man, locals clashed with them and pelted stones. Superintendent of Police (North) Jitendra Srivastava and Pipraich Station House Officer suffered serious injuries in the incident.
Later, police found Deepak’s blood-soaked body around 4 km away, which triggered protests in the area. Deepak’s father alleged police negligence, claiming that his son could have been saved if authorities had acted promptly.
The family said Deepak was preparing for NEET for admission into a medical college.
DIG Shiv S Channappa and SSP Raj Karan Nayyar met the victim’s family and promised swift action.
District Magistrate Deepak Meena described the incident as “extremely tragic” and said action is underway to nab the culprits. “We have spoken to the family, and their demands have been discussed. Whatever assistance can be provided at both local and higher levels will be ensured,” he said.
Deepak’s family has demanded Rs 1 crore compensation, a government job and strict action against both the smugglers and erring policemen. His inconsolable mother said that her son’s killers should be given the death penalty.
On Tuesday afternoon, when Deepak’s body reached his village for the last rites, the atmosphere turned even more volatile. Hundreds of villagers gathered, and wailing women hurled stones at PAC personnel, forcing them to retreat.
Deepak’s grieving father lit the funeral pyre, as Channappa and Nayyar remained stationed in the village to monitor the situation.
Speaking to reporters, Nayyar said that the postmortem was conducted under videography, and the cause of death was a severe head injury. He denied “rumours” of gunshot injury.
“No bullet injuries were found on the body. The accused are cattle smuggler, and their past criminal records are being checked. A case has been registered against six suspects, and five police teams are pursuing the accused,” he said.
Earlier, Nayyar said the situation had been brought under control, with Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and additional forces deployed. He said the report about the incident was received around 3.30 am.
“The smugglers had arrived in two pickup vans, one of which was able to flee the spot while the other got stuck, and the young man (Deepak) had gone after it. One of the people from the stuck pickup van was caught by the villagers, and he was hospitalised. Police immediately reached the spot,” Nayyar told reporters.
“The youth (Deepak) received injuries to his head, apparently because of which he unfortunately died. A complaint has been received from the family, and further legal actions have been initiated,” he said.
Police did not disclose what the alleged cattle smugglers were doing in the village or why they attempted to break into the shop.
On the suspension of the in-charge and entire staff of Jungle Dhusar police outpost with immediate effect, officials said the action came in light of “serious negligence, indifference towards duty, and acts of arbitrariness observed in their conduct.” “A departmental inquiry has also been ordered against all concerned personnel,” an official statement said.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the people were angry because the administration tried to protect the smugglers and called the incident a “major failure” of the chief minister.
“The BJP government is responsible for the public outrage that has erupted in Gorakhpur against animal smugglers protected by those in power due to administrative-collusive complicity…” Yadav posted on X in Hindi.
“If this is happening in UP’s ‘chief city,’ it means that there is a chief partnership of someone in this ‘gorakhdhandha’, or that this city has also slipped from their hands, and like entire UP, crime is at its peak here too, and the criminals’ writ runs. In both situations, this is a ‘chief failure’,” he said.
Adityanath, who is the head priest of the Gorakhnath Muth, has been elected multiple times as Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur, his “karm bhoomi”, since becoming a monk.
Yadav hoped that the bereaved family would get justice. “BJP jaaye to insaaf aaye (The BJP’s departure will herald justice),” he remarked. PTI COR KIS ABN RHL
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