The young widow of the 32-year old police officer who was killed brutally in Saturday’s mob violence in Pratapgarh district, about 140 km from Lucknow, is clearly unimpressed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s generous gesture of a compensation of Rs 50 lakhs in addition to conceding her demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
The chief minister’s assurance to also provide employment to two members of the slain deputy superintendent of police Zia Ul Haque’s family has also failed to pacify the rising tempers in the victim’s home, which prompted Akhilesh to air-dash there.
“I am not ready to believe that my husband was killed in mob violence; I have sufficient reason to believe that he was eliminated as a part of a criminal conspiracy by those who were unhappy with his upright ways”, Parveen Azad told mediapersons shortly after the chief minister’s departure from her husband’s native home in Deoria district of eastern UP.
The resentful attitude of the victim’s family was also attributable to the fact that Akhilesh undertook the helicopter ride to Deoria only after the inconsolable widow issued a threat to commit suicide unless the chief minister came down to their doorstep.
While she is satisfied with Akhilesh Yadav’s decision to recommend a CBI probe into entire violence that was sparked off in Belipur village of Kunda tehsil in Pratapgarh district, she is not ready to give up her demand for Raja Bhaiya’s arrest.
Since the state government made it a point to send a formal recommendation to the Union government for entrusting each of the four criminal cases registered at Kunda police station in connection with the violence, it appears unlikely that UP police would be in a position to arrest the controversial feudal lord-turned-politician, who was compelled to step down from the minister’s position earlier during the day.
Interestingly however, the demand for CBI probe was not only raised by the family but even Raja Bhaiya was readily game for it. Pleading innocence, he told the state assembly as well as mediapersons, “I am being framed in this case by those who could never digest the idea of my becoming a minister.”
He went on to add, “I am convinced that the manner in which the FIRs have been lodged will allow the real culprits to literally get away with murder.”
According to him none of the four persons mentioned in the FIR -- that includes himself -- were present at the scene of the violence. “In fact my driver whose name has been mentioned in the FIR was in Lucknow along with me and had even driven me down to the chief minister’s residence that very night; and another aide of mine accused of the murder was extremely ill,” he added.
It may be recalled that violence erupted in Belipur village following the killing of ‘gram pradhan’ Nanhe Lal Yadav who was gunned down from point blank range while he was sipping tea at a roadside stall there on Saturday evening. No sooner than the body of the gram pradhan was brought from the local hospital where he was declared “brought dead” to the police station, the mob turned even more violent and attacked the cops.
Circle Officer Haque, who was known for his dare-devilry, rushed to the scene to quell the violence, but the violent mob targeted him. According to eyewitnesses, Haque was attacked with lathis and once he fell down, he was kicked and booted, before being shot. The assailants first fired shots on his legs and then pumped a fatal bullet straight into his chest, leaving him dead.
The free-for all also left the slain gram pradhan Nanhe Yadav’s younger brother Suresh Yadav dead. The situation came under control only after heavy additional police deployments were rushed to the spot. The body of Haque was recovered after three hours of the incident.