4 cops suspended, probe ordered in boy’s encounter killing case

AGRA: Four policemen, including two sub-inspectors, were suspended in connection with the death of an eight-year-old boy in cross-firing between police and criminals in a Mathura village on Wednesday, even as district magistrate Sarvagya Ram Mishra ordered a magisterial inquiry into the case.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh, which was handed over to the aggrieved family on Thursday.

The boy, Madhav Bhardwaj, had got trapped in the crossfire while he was playing with his friends.

Inspector general, Agra range, Raja Srivastava reached the Aduki Mohanpur village of Mathura on Thursday to investigate the matter. On the basis of Srivastava’s inquiry report, subinspectors Virendra Singh Yadav and Saurabh Sharma and constables Subhash Chandra and Udham Singh were suspended for dereliction in duty.

They are among the six policemen who had reached the village on Wednesday evening on getting information about the presence of suspects involved in a loot case in Mathura.

Senior superintendent of police, Mathura, Swapnil Mamgain who also visited the village on Thursday, said Dy SP Rakesh Singh would carry out the police investigation.

“A case has been registered at the highway police station against four unidentified people on the basis of the complaint lodged by the boy’s father,” Mamgain said.

“Prime facie it appears that S-I Yadav did not act in a thoughtful manner. A bullet accidently hit an innocent boy. Further investigations are on,” the SSP said.

“Three other police officers, including sub-inspector Sharma, were found guilty of not taking the injured child to hospital and leaving him and his relatives midway. They have been suspended for their insensitive approach,” he said.

“The post-mortem report has revealed bullet injury as the reason for the child’s death but it is yet to be ascertained as to who fired the shot. Bomb disposal squad and forensic team searched for the bullet but it could not be found,” he said.

Mathura DM Sarvagya Ram Mishra said a magisterial inquiry had been ordered. “A report will be submitted to the state government within two weeks,” he said.

He said S-I Yadav had gone to the village with a team without informing the station officer or circle officer.

Meanwhile, the last rites of the boy were performed in the village amidst the presence of senior police and district officials.

The victim’s grandfather Shiv Shankar said the policemen were sitting in the field and when asked, they told the villagers not to bother about them.

“Thereafter, they were seen moving while firing but no one else was seen. My eight-year-old grandson Madhav suddenly fell down after a bullet hit him in the head while his friends were seen crying,” he said.

“The cops called for a vehicle and agreed to accompany the family to hospital but at Navada they told the family to take the boy to hospital as they had to go and fetch more force for the encounter. The boy was admitted to hospital where he died,” he said.