The death of one of the accused in the Dadri lynching case at a hospital in Delhi triggered tension at Bishada village in Greater Noida on Wednesday with the villagers staging protests and burning the effigy of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Accused Ravi aka Robin had fallen ill at Luskar jail and was on Tuesday shifted to the district hospital from where he was referred to Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital at Delhi where he died in the evening due to "kidney and respiratory failure". He was hospitalised as he was "suspected to be suffering from dengue".
Ravi's family has alleged foul play and that "he was kept in a separate cell by the jail authorities and mercilessly beaten up by some police officials inside jail on September 30, due to which his condition deteriorated".
District Magistrate NP Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the death of the undertrial prisoner and heavy police force has been deployed at Bishada with additional force pressed into service at places with a substantial minority community population.
Local priest Sadhvi Har Siddhi Giri alleged that Ravi was murdered in jail and threatened that "no Samajwadi Party (SP) leader will be allowed to enter the village".
She also said the women of the village will go to the jail to inquire about the health of the other accused.
The women of the village have been staging protests since Saturday demanding the arrest of Jaan Mohammad, the brother of Mohammed Akhlaq, for alleged cow-slaughtering.
Akhlaq was dragged out of his house and killed by a mob at Dadri for allegedly storing and consuming beef last year.
The sadhvi said the protests will continue till Jaan Mohammad was arrested.
The villagers also took out a rally from Ravi's house on Wednesday and tried to block traffic but were prevented by the police.
According to the SP (Rural), the situation at Bishada was "under control". He said initial reports revealed that Ravi died of an illness, adding that the exact cause would be known after the post-mortem.
The SP appealed to the villagers to stage "peaceful" protests and not to resort to violence.
