UP: Congress demands judicial inquiry into Sonbhadra killing, says BJP cannot shun its responsibility

Ajay Kumar Lallu with the injured victims. (Twitter)

The Congress on Thursday demanded a judicial inquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the killing of 10 people, including three women, over a land dispute in Sonbhadra district.

The Congress sent its Legislature Party Leader Ajay Kumar Lallu to Sonbhadra, who met the injured as well as the families of those who died in the incident. “This incident is not of a clash, but it is a massacre. We demand a judicial inquiry into the incident,” Kumar said, adding that the BJP government in the state cannot shun its responsibility by describing the incident as a fall out of a land dispute.

He said the villagers had been demanding redressal of their problems but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath overlooked it.

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The Congress demanded an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the dead and Rs 15 to those injured along with land ‘pattas’. “The delegation found that when the land mafia were firing at the tribals, calls were made on the police helpline but they arrived late as part of a conspiracy,” he added.

He said that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will soon visit the village to meet the victims’ families.