‘This is Nathu rajya’: Akhilesh terms Jhansi man’s killing ‘police lynching’

In a press conference on Thursday, Akhilesh took jibes at the BJP government at the Centre too. “I do not know where these ultra-nationalists are taking us. They have used Pakistan as an excuse to take votes from us. They removed Article 370 and imprisoned Kashmiris, but has terrorism stopped? France has sold us Rafale fighter planes, America sold Pakistan F-16 jets. They are making us fight each other. Tell me, what defence parts will be made in Uttar Pradesh? What development will happen here?”

On October 5, the SHO of Moth police station, Devender Singh Chauhan, claimed that Pushpender Yadav, his brother Ravinder and cousin Vipin intercepted his white Creta, shot him in the cheek and stole the car. The following day, Jhansi police claimed they cornered Pushpender and two other men, who opened fire at them. The police say they killed Pushpender in self-defence. On October 6, an FIR was also lodged against Pushpender, Ravinder and Vipin for firing at SHO Chauhan.

However, Ravinder, a CISF constable, later said when the incident took place, he was not in Jhansi but in Delhi on duty at a metro station.

Akhilesh said the encounter was a “police lynching” and called for a court-monitored probe. He said he did not want the CBI to investigate the case, adding: “I have no trust in CBI, ED and the Income Tax department. They are trying to break Opposition parties”.

He then said the Unnao rape case could see some justice only because of SC intervention, and stressed the need for a sitting HC judge to monitor the encounter probe.

Akhilesh said there are inconsistencies in the timing of the encounter as per the official police report and the actual time of death, and demanded that the post mortem report in the case be made public.

Also Read | Jhansi ‘encounter’: Family refuses cremation, seeks FIR

The Samajwadi Party leader also said the UP police had received the highest number of notices from the National Human Rights Commission on encounter killings and custodial deaths.

Akhilesh said UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s promise of making an expressway connecting Jhansi to Delhi had not yet materialised, and there was no sign of a metro train service starting in Jhansi.

He said that the state government had distracted people with the issue of toilets. “I gave laptops in Jhansi. They are making toilets which have no running water. Do you need toilets or laptops?”

Akhilesh said that after the by-elections in the state are over, he would take out a cycle rally against encounter killings, farmer deaths and unemployment.