Uttar Pradesh: Family of 12-year-old allege police vehicle mowed him down
Suraj Kumar was a student of class four
Suraj Kumar was a student of class four
Suraj Kumar was a student of class four
Suraj Kumar was a student of class four
A dalit family in Azamgarh has alleged that their 12-year-old son was run over by a police vehicle on August 14 when the headman of the same village was shot dead by three others of the village.
On August 14, Satyamev Jayate, the pradhan of the village of Bansgaon in Tarwa block of Azamgarh, was shot dead. Commotion and arson ensued and the police arrived soon after. A 12-year-old boy Suraj Kumar was part of the crowd that had gathered at the spot and his family members allege that he was run over by a police vehicle as the police tried to disperse the crowd.
Hari Ram, the deceased’s father told THE WEEK: “My boy was just a bystander. The police vehicle knocked him over and killed him”. On August 16, the Azamgarh police arrested the main accused of the shooting Vivek Singh. Two other accused remain at large.
Suraj Kumar’s family alleges that no one is ready to listen to them. “On August 16, we went to file a police complaint. But we were not given any copy of it. The local media has been asking us many questions but no one is helping us. I was barely 50 metres away from Suraj when a vehicle mowed him down. A police jeep bearing the number 100 went ahead first. And then came the vehicle which killed my cousin”, said Deepak Kumar, the son of Hari Ram’s elder brother.
Suraj Kumar was a student of class four.
On August 14, the state’s chief minister Adityanath had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the deceased’s families, including that of Suraj Kumar. The in-charge of the station and the Station House Officer (SHO) were suspended. The chief minister had also directed that the National Security Act (NSA) be slapped on the accused and their property seized.
The police have recovered the firearm used in the shoot out. A search is on for the other accused Suyansh Dubey and Waseem. Rajeev Yadav, a social activist said: "There have been many instances of atrocities on dalits in Azamgarh. The police have remained unmindful of these and hence these have continued unabated." The district police did not respond to a request for comments saying only that the matter was under investigation.