Lucknow: Two more persons were killed in caste related violence on Wednesday in the riot-hit Saharanpur district, taking the toll to three in the past 24 hours.
An angry Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suspended district magistrate N.P. Singh and SSP Subhash Chandra Dubey for their failure to control the situation. A SDM and a circle officer faced similar action.
Pramod Kumar Pandey has been appointed the new district magistrate of Saharanpur while Babloo Kumar will take over as the new SSP of the trouble-torn district.
Mr Pandey who was posted in the election commission has been sent to Saharanpur by state place while Mr Babloo Kumar is already in Saharanpur. He was posted in the neighboring Muzaffarnagar district.
Meanwhile, a high level delegation of the BSP comprising Mr Satish Chandra Misra, Mr Ram Achal Rajbhar, Mr Lalji Varma and Mr Inderjit Saroj met Yogi Adityanath here on Wednesday evening and discussed the situation with him.
The BSP leaders sought protection for Dalits in Saharanpur as well as other parts of the state.
The first incident on Wednesday was reported from Mirzapur village at around 5 a.m on Wednesday. It was case of mistaken identity. Thakurs attacked two persons sleeping in a brick kiln in Mirzapur with sharp-edged weapons, presuming them to be Dalits.
Nitin and Yashpal, both belonging to the Prajapati caste, sustained serious injuries. Nitin died on the way while Yashpal was admitted in a hospital in critical condition. The attack took place at a time when a heavy posse of policemen is camping in Saharanpur that had faced a series of casteist violence in the pasty one month.
In the second incident, a Thakur youth was shot at by unidentified persons in the district on Wednesday afternoon. Thakurs held protests at the district hospital where the victim has been admitted in critical condition. He died during treatment later in the evening
Home Secretary Mani Prasad Sharma said that the situation was now under control and all aspects are being monitored. Over 30 protestors who participated in the violent clashes have been arrested. Mr Misra is a part of a four-member team sent by chief minister Yogi Adityanath late on Tuesday night to Shabbirpur village where more than a dozen people were injured in sword attacks on Tuesday after BSP chief Mayawati’s visit to the violence-torn village. The other team members including IG Amitabh Yash, ADG Aditya Misra, and DG Security Vijay Bhushan were flown to the violence-hit region on Tuesday.
Yogi bans internet in Saharanpur
The Yogi government bans internet in Saharanpur to check spread of rumours. The Chief Minister also announced Rs 15 lakh as compensation to the family of a man killed in caste violence in Saharanpur district.
A mob had attacked a group of people returning from a rally of Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati, killing Ashish a.k.a. Arvind, 24, who hailed from Sarsawa town, on the spot and injuring four others. The family of Nitin, who was killed in violence on Wednesday, will be given a similar amount.
The injured will be given Rs 50,000 each as compensation. The state government has asked the district officials to ensure proper treatment for those injured.
