Elderly man beaten to death in Bulandshahr

A MUSLIM man was beaten to death at Sohi village in Bulandshahr’s Pahasu area Tuesday. His family alleged that members of Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) were involved in the killing, according to police.

The deceased, identified as Ghulam Mohammad (59), was the neighbour of Yusuf (22), who has been on the run after allegedly abducting a Hindu girl.

“Ghulam’s son Yaseen has alleged that while he was walking towards their orchard to meet his father, he saw Gavendra Singh — a resident of their village — and six others leaving the orchard on motorcycles... when he entered the orchard, he found his father lying injured... locals rushed Ghulam to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival,” Shikarpur police Circle Officer Vijay Prakash said.

Later, Yaseen’s elder brother Wakeel got an FIR lodged.

Additional SP (Rural) Jagdish Sharma said, “Wakeel has alleged that HYV members killed his father. He has not mentioned the motive behind the murder.”

Bulandshahr SSP Muniraj G said the motive behind the murder would be ascertained only after Singh’s arrest. “We are trying to verify if Ghulam’s murder is connected to the abduction case against Yusuf,” he added.

On April 27, an FIR was lodged at Pahasu police station against Yusuf for allegedly abducting a 19-year-old girl of the adjacent Fazalpur village. “So far, police have not found any evidence indicating the involvement of HYV members,” DIG (Meerut Range) K S Emmanuel said.

HYV’S Bulandshahr district president Sunil Raghav said: “No office-bearer or worker of the organisation is involved in the murder. Singh is not a member of the HYV.”