Photo shows man lynched in Hapur being dragged; police apologise

Lucknow, June 22

Days after the lynching of a man in Hapur allegedly over cow-slaughter, a picture of the victim being dragged by a crowd in the presence of policemen has appeared on social media forcing Uttar Pradesh Police to apologise.

Kasim (45) was lynched following a tiff with a man on a motorcycle at Bacheda village in Pilkhuwa area on Monday.

The motorcyclist called his friends who beat up Kasim and his friend Samayuddin.

In a tweet, UP Police on Thursday night apologised for the incident saying the three policemen seen in the picture had been transferred to police lines and an inquiry had been ordered.

DGP Headquarters Uttar Pradesh Police said, “This picture seems to have been taken when the police had reached the spot to shift the injured to the police vehicle and because of the non-availability of an ambulance at that moment, the victim was unfortunately carried this way.”

“Admittedly, the policemen should have been more sensitive in their conduct. The humane concerns got ignored in the urgency of saving a life and maintaining law and order. As is clear from the picture the victim was rushed to the hospital by policemen in a UP100 PRV,” it added.

The Hapur police had claimed that Kasim and his friend were assaulted after a scuffle with some men from the neighbouring village. The police had registered a murder case and arrested two people.

“There are some rumours of a cow-slaughter angle but they have not been found to be true in the investigations so far,” SP Sankalp had stated. PTI