Kangra, Sep 25: Tension gripped Kangra town today following the murder of a 29-year-old labourer from Uttar Pradesh and subsequent protests against the police for not nabbing the actual culprit even after the lapse of 18 hours.
Sanjeev Chauhan, Sub-divisional Police Officer, Kangra, said Sewa Lal Nishad, a resident of Lockipur in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, was working as a labourer here and was stabbed to death in the Jayanti Vihar locality of the town last evening.
He said three persons were suspected to have been involved in the crime and one of them was arrested under Section 302 of the IPC and the police were looking for the other two co-accused persons involved in the crime.
According to the relatives of the victim, at 8.30 pm, the victim received a call from his co-workers from Jayanti Vihar that there was an altercation between two other persons. Sewa Lal rushed to the spot where one of the accused persons arrived and allegedly stabbed Sewa Lal to death.
Raju Nishad, cousin of the victim, alleged that the police arrested only one person and were lax in nabbing the other culprits. He alleged that the actual person was absconding due to police inaction.The relatives of the victim and other migrants gathered outside the police station and kept the body there and blocked the main bazaar road leading to the temple. They raised slogans against the police and demanded justice.
The protesters were joined by the wife of the victim and his other women members of the family. At one point of time, even the protesters tried to gatecrash into the police station. The police, however, stopped them from entering the police station.
Chauhan tried to persuade the protesters, but in vain.Meanwhile, the protesters took away the body from outside the police station and placed it on the Matour-Shimla state highway at Tehsil Chowk, leaving the traffic blocked on both sides.
Tension prevailed in the area when hundreds of vehicles got stuck and the unarmed police was a mute spectator to the situation. Thousands of pilgrims are visiting the temple town in connection with the Ashwin Navratri and they had to face inconvenience.
The road remained blocked for one and half hours and even after an additional force arrived on the spot and Bhadur Singh, SHO, Kangra, tried to persuade them, yet the police were unable to pacify them. The police then took away the body from Tehsil Chowk. The protesters tried to chase the vehicle carrying the body, but in vain.
It was following the action by the police, the traffic was resumed on the highway. The police later handed over the body to his relatives and the body was cremated this evening.
The protesters sought intervention of the Utter Pradesh Chief minister Yogi Aditinath for giving them justice. Chauhan said that some protesters were booked for blocking the highway.
Source Tribune India
