19 held for Ghazipur cop’s death

VARANASI/LUCKNOW: Police arrested 19 people on Sunday after 32 protesters were named in a first information report (FIR) over the killing of a policeman during mob violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, according to officials.

Head constable Suresh Pratap Singh (48) was killed on Saturday when protesters threw stones at vehicles returning from the venue of a public meeting addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vats was hit on the head by a stone when he went to clear a traffic jam. The protesters allegedly belonged to the Nishad Party, a two-year-old political group. They turned violent while demanding the release of four members of the party who were arrested over a blockade.

The head constable’s son said on Sunday that the police were unable to protect their own. “What should we expect from the police if there are not able to protect their own people?” VP Singh said. “What will we do with compensation? I lost my father. Such incidents have happened earlier in Pratapgarh and Bulandshahr.”

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state over the violence, saying law and order in the state had deteriorated. “Whether in the House or on a dais at a public meeting, the chied minister always speaks the same language and gives the same message — ‘thok do’ — (eliminate in an encounter),” he said at a news conference.