Even police officer can be killed easily: NHRC

The killing of a police officer in Uttar Pradesh Bulandshahr during a violent agitation against suspected cow slaughter shows that even cops do "not appear to be safe" and can be "easily eliminated at free will", the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on Tuesday.

Seeking a report from the UP government over Monday's incident in which two persons were killed, the NHRC said it wanted details of action taken against those involved in violence and relief and rehabilitation provided to the families of the deceased persons.

"The reported incident is indicative of yet another incident of violent protest and rampaging by the unruly mob exposing lawlessness and failure of the administration to tackle the sensitive issues and situations. The contents of the media reports suggest that even police officers do not appear to be safe and can be easily eliminated at free will of the uncontrolled lawless elements," an NHRC statement said.

Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, who had earlier investigated the Mohammad Akhlaq lynching case initially, and Sumit Kumar (20) were shot dead on Monday as a rampaging mob protested against alleged illegal cow slaughter.

The NHRC said the Right to Life of the deceased persons in the instant incident has been grossly violated, which is a matter of concern for the commission.

"The safety of the public property and lives of its citizens is the prime duty of the state and the commission expects effective and prompt action from the state authorities in such situations so that a strong message could be given to the violators of the law," it said.

Quoting media reports, it said, the trouble started after some local people from Mahav village spotted carcasses of cows in a nearby forest. Some of the agitators loaded the carcasses on a tractor and placed it near Chingrawati police post on Syana-Garh highway near Bulandshahr city and raised slogans against police and blocked the Bulandshahr-Garh state highway.

"The violent mob went on destroying public property including vehicles and the Police Post. Reportedly, the police officer was shot in the head," it said.