Farmer shot over molestation case

A farmer was sprayed with bullets in Nauzarpur village under Sasni Police Station in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday evening for daring to lodge an FIR against the assailants for molesting his daughter two years ago.

The daughter of the deceased farmer said that her father had lodged an FIR against Gaurav Sharma and others when they molested her two years ago. She told the police that her father Amrish Kumar Varma (48) was working in the field when Gaurav and five others came and sprayed him with bullets and sped away in a car.

Family members rushed him to the hospital where he was declared brought dead.

“The deceased sustained bullet injuries on the head and chest and had succumbed to injuries by the time he was brought to the emergency ward,” said a doctor on emergency duty in the district hospital.

A video of the daughter crying over the killing and seeking justice at the police station went viral, constraining the senior police officials to act swif tly and arrest two of the assailants.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken serious note of the killing and directed the DGP to slap NSA on the assailants and arrest them within 24 hours. The CM has also directed the district administration to provide all support to the deceased farmer ’s family.

The deceased farmer was cremated amid tight security and his daughter was among the large number of people who participated in the funeral procession. Family members alleged that the main accused Gaurav Sharma was a Samajwadi Party leader. His pictures with SP leaders are going viral on social media.

Reacting to the farmer's murder, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav commented: "Women and girls are not safe and the Chief Ministers is busy politicking in West Bengal. Is this how they want to bring Ram Rajya?.

The Station House Officer of Hathras said that a case under National Security Act (NSA) has been registered against Gaurav Sharma and five others on the complaint of the deceased’s family members.

“It seems to be a case of old personal enmity. The deceased had lodged an FIR against the main accused and others in July 2018. The main accused had warned the deceased to withdraw the case or face consequences. When Amrish refused to withdraw the case, Gaurav and his associates shot him,” said the investigating officer.

There is another theory doing the rounds that Gaurav’ was slated to marry a girl of the deceased family two and half years ago but due to some misunderstanding the alliance did not fructify. On Monday morning, Gaurav’s wife and aunt had gone to a nearby temple where that girl had also come to offer prayers. They engaged in a heated exchange over the broken alliance and the FIR lodged against Gaurav two years ago. Livid over the fresh provocation, Gaurav took five others along and shot Amrish dead. Gaurav is a resident of Algarh and used to frequent Hathras to meet his mother's sister.