This story is from October 18, 2020

Uttar Pradesh: Ballia firing accused Dhirendra, 2 others, arrested in Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh: Ballia firing accused Dhirendra, 2 others, arrested in Lucknow
Dhirendra Pratap Singh was arrested from a park in Gomti Nagar area of Lucknow.
LUCKNOW / VARANASI: The special task force (STF) of UP Police arrested the main accused of Ballia shooting case, Dhirendra Pratap Singh, from Lucknow, three days after he allegedly shot a person during allotment of government fair price shop in Durjanpur village.
"Dhirendra Singh, the main accused in the murder of a 46-year-old man in Ballia has been arrested. He was held from Lucknow near Polytechnic crossing on the basis of an informer's tip-off,” said Inspector General of Police, UPSTF, Amitabh Yash.
Meanwhile in Ballia, the joint team of Kotwali and Government Railway Police (GRP) succeeded in catching two more accused from Vaishali crossing on Sunday morning.
Thus seven out of eight named accused in the case have been arrested. Total 10 persons have been arrested so far.
Ballia SP Devendra Nath said two accused Santosh Kumar Yadav and Amarjit Kumar Yadav of Durjanpur were arrested from Vaishali crossing when they were trying to reach railway station for boarding some train to leave the district. Two country made revolvers and live cartridges were recovered from their possession, he said. "These two were named accused in the Durjanpur firing case and a cash reward of Rs 50,000 had been announced on each of them," he added.
Dhirendra, who was absconding since the day of crime, posted a video on social media on Saturday, claiming that he did not open fire and fled the police custody as he was facing threat to life. He was also carrying a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on his head.
On October 15, 46-year-old Jaiprakash Pal was shot dead in Ballia’s Durjanpur village in full public view in the presence of sub-divisional magistrate, Suresh Chandra Pal and circle officer, Chandrakesh Singh along with other policemen. All of them were later suspended by the Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath.
Later, an FIR was lodged by former SHO Reoti police station against Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Narendra Pratap Singh, Prabhat Singh, Jaswant Singh, Devendra Pratap Singh, Amarjeet Yadav, Santosh Yadav and 25 unidentified persons. DIG, Azamgarh Range, Subhash Chandra Dubey said that properties of the accused will be seized under the Gangster Act.
The three unidentified who were arrested on October 17 were identified as Munna Yadav, Raj Pratap Yadav, and Rajan Tewari. Among others arrested in the case are Narendra Pratap Singh, the brother of main accused Dhirendra Pratap Singh, and Devendra Pratap Singh.
Meanwhile, the kin of those arrested by the police have demanded a CBI inquiry in the case. Dhirendra's sister-in-law, Asha, told reporters that police was doing a one-sided inquiry in the matter. "Only a CBI inquiry can clear the facts along with a NARCO test," she said.
Singh in his viral audio had also revealed that he had served in the Army for 18 years and that day he only tried to save his family as he saw his 80-year-old father and sister-in-law being attacked in presence of administration officials.
However, the BJP MLA from Bairia, Surendra Singh, who was vocal in favour of the main accused, preferred to be tightlipped and stayed away from the media on Sunday.
Varanasi zone ADG Brij Bhushan said that with the arrest of Dhirendra by STF in Lucknow and two more accused persons in Ballia, the total number of arrests in Ballia firing case has reached 10. Of eight named accused, seven have been arrested. "Raids for arresting remaining accused persons are continuing in Ballia as well as adjoining districts,” he added.
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