Constable Suresh Vats (48) from Karimuddinpur police station was hit on the head by a stone when he went to end a traffic jam caused by the protests.

A police constable was on Saturday killed and several others injured in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh in stone-pelting after clashes broke out during a protest by members of the Nishad Party.

Eleven persons were arrrested and several have been detained for questioning. There are over 90 persons named in the FIR, including 30 named as accused.

Constable Suresh Vats was returning from his duty at the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the incident took place under the Nonhara area of the Purvanchal district.

Yesh Veer Singh, SP Ghazipur, said the constable was killed when the protestors started pelting stones as the police were "trying to clear the roadblock" created by them. The protestors had blocked roads at four places near the venue, he said. The constable succumbed to his injuries.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the matter and announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 40 lakh to the family of the constable. He also directed the district magistrate and SSP to "take strict action against the unruly elements and immediate arrest and legal action against them," a government statement said.

Sanjay Nishad, president of the Nishad Party, demanded a detailed police investigation into the incident. "The BJP is trying to defame us with wrong allegations," he said.

Praveen Nishad, MP of Gorakhpur, and leader of the Nishad Party while talking to The Hindu said Nishad Party had no role in the violence. He claimed activists of the party were staging a peaceful dharna when members of the BJP who were returning from the rally in vehicles started chasing and attacking the Nishad activists.

"Due to the attack, local villagers came to the support of our workers and this led to an altercation. The incident regarding the constable (stone-pelting) took place through the BJP workers," said Mr. Nishad.

The Nishads were demanding issuing of SC certificates for their caste under the name Majwar and implementation of a 2016 notifcation brought under the Akhilesh Yadav government, said Mr. Nishad.

"The present government is not giving us the certificates even though it is still valid," said the MP. Nishads are among the 17 most-backward castes in UP who have been over the years struggling for SC status.