india

Updated: Oct 10, 2019 05:03 IST

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday accused Jhansi police of killing a 28-year-old man in a staged gunfight three day ago, and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

lLast week, Jhansi’s senior superintendent of police OP Singh had described Pushpendra Yadav as an “illegal sand miner”, and said he was killed on the intervening night of October 5 and 6 in an encounter, hours after he had fired at a police team led by Moth station house officer (SHO) Dharmendra Singh Chauhan and had driven away in his car.

The SP chief met the family members of Pushpendra Yadav, in Karguwan village where hundreds of people have been staging a dharna, demanding registration of a first information report (FIR) against the SHO as well as his arrest. The victim’s wife Shivangi and brother Ravindra on Wednesday threatened to consume poison if she they don’t get justice.

“The police theory is not believable. No one is buying the theories being given out by the Jhansi administration,” Yadav said after meeting the family members. “It was a not an encounter but a murder. No one is safe in UP where the chief minister openly encourages the police to be trigger-happy,” Akhilesh Yadav told reporters.

lThe former chief minister spent more than 30 minutes with the family members as thousands of people waited outside. Demanding an inquiry by a sitting judge of the high court, he said that he would also begin a dharna to ensure justice to the family.

lTwo separate FIRs were lodged at Moth and Gursarain police stations against Pushpendra Yadav, Vipin and Ravindra on Sunday.

The Jhansi police had cremated the body of Pushpendra Yadav onMonday amid protests from his family members, who refused to perform the last rites, demanding that a murder case be filed against the police personnel involved in the alleged encounter.

“By forcibly performing the last rites of Puspendra Yadav, the BJP government has proved it can go up to any extent to save murder accused (SHO). We demand lodging of an FIR under section 302 (murder) against the SHO and a probe into the case by a sitting high court judge,” the Samajwadi Party had said in a tweet.

The family has accused the SHO of murdering Pushpendra as he failed to extort money from him in exchange for releasing his truck, which was seized on Friday.

Sacked Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Tej Bahadur began an indefinite sit-in after taking out a march to the tehsil office. “Brother of a colleague has been killed and I will continue my dharna till an FIR is registered.”

lThe SHO has been sent to police lines. Senior police officials refused to comment on the matter.

(PTI contributed to this story)