‘Fake’ encounter: Akhilesh meets kin, seeks judicial probe
KANPUR: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday sought a judicial probe into the alleged encounter of a man accused of undertaking illegal sand mining in Jhansi, while the kin of the deceased threatened to consume poison if they don’t get justice.
The former chief minister met the family members of the deceased, Pushpendra Yadav, in Karguwan village where hundreds of people have been staging a dharna, demanding an FIR against SHO, Moth, Dharmendra Chauhan as well as his arrest.
“The police theory is not believable,” Yadav said after meeting the family members. “It was a not an encounter but a murder. No one is safe in UP where the chief minister openly encourages the police to be trigger-happy,” he told reporters.
Demanding an inquiry by a sitting judge of the high court, he said that he would begin a dharna to ensure justice for the family. Yadav would stay in Jhansi to strategise the future course of the agitation.
As political heat continues to build up on the issue, the Jhansi police cremated his body on Monday amid protests from his family members, who refused to perform the last rites, demanding that a murder case be filed against the police personnel involved in his encounter.
Pushpendra’s wife Shivangi on Wednesday said she would consume poison if justice is denied. His brother Ravindra Yadav said he would also commit suicide if the police continue to refuse to register an FIR against the SHO. The family alleges that the SHO murdered Pushpendra after failing to extort money from him in exchange for releasing his truck, which was seized on Friday.
Sacked BSF jawan Tej Bahadur began an indefinite sit-in after taking out a march to
the tehsil office.
“Brother of a colleague has been killed and I will continue my dharna till an FIR is registered.”
On Tuesday, Aditya Yadav, son of Shivpal Yadav and a leader of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL), met the family members in Jhansi .