Representative image of police van.
Credit: iStock Photo
Lucknow: Amid attacks from the Congress, the police have arrested four more people in connection with the alleged lynching of a dalit youth in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli district, the Parliamentary Constituency of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, taking the total number of arrests to nine.
Police on Wednesday said that 15 more accused persons have been identified and would soon be arrested.
The police were contemplating slapping the Gangster Act and the NSA on the accused persons, sources said.
A senior police official said in Raebareli that a search operation was underway to nab the other accused persons. ‘’We have identified 10 to 15 others who were involved in the incident….we will arrest them soon and ensure strict punishment,’’ the official added.
A dalit youth, Hariom, a resident of Fatehpur in the district, was allegedly beaten to death by lathis and sticks by a mob, which mistook him to be a thief, in Ishwardaspur village last week.
A video, which went viral on social media later, purportedly showed the victim repeatedly taking the name of Rahul Gandhi even as the mob was heard saying that they were ‘babawale’ (supporters of chief minister Yogi Adityanath).
‘’Hamlog babawale hain…..Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad ka bhi naam lo’’ (we are supporters of Adityanath…Also take the names of Bhagat Singh and Azad), the mob could be heard telling the profusely bleeding victim when he took Rahu’s name.
Rahul had spoken to the family of the victim and assured all help to them. UP Congress president Ajay Rai also met the family of the victim.
Four police personnel, including an ASI, were suspended and an SHO was shunted out after the incident. Five persons were arrested in connection with the incident.
Congress has chalked out plans to launch a statewide agitation to what the party said ‘expose’ the BJP government.