4 UP Dalits, missing for a week, found murdered

Express news service : Lucknow, Thu May 09 2013, 03:12 hr

Four Dalit farmers, who were missing since April 30, were found murdered in Asmauli police station area of Sambhal district on Wednesday. The bodies were found buried in two trenches in a field.

The bodies bore injury marks caused by sticks. The postmortem report is awaited to ascertain the exact reason of death, said Moradabad Range DIG Amrendra Kumar Sengar.

The victims were identified as Vijay Singh (43), his brothers Suraj (35) and Jasveer (30) and their neighbour Manoj (29) — residents of Gammanpura village in Moradabad district bordering Sambhal.

The Moradabad police arrested three persons, including a history-sheeter, Anees, of Sambhal district. The police said that bodies were recovered following the interrogation of Anees, who is the prime accused in the case. Others arrested in the case are Afsar and Vijay Singh Jatav, who was released from jail in a criminal case on April 28. The police said that a hunt is on to trace four other associates of Anees who were involved in the crime.

On Wednesday, the victims’ family members and locals blocked the Moradabad-Delhi highway for more than eight hours demanding compensation. The situation came under control after senior officials reached the spot and conveyed the state government’s decision to give ex-gratia of Rs 13 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased.

Earlier, on Monday, a three-member team of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes visited the families of the victims, and held meeting with the police and administrative officials of Moradabad and Sambhal. On Wednesday, Commission’s chairman P L Punia met the families of the victims.

The police said that the murders were a fallout of an incident that took place on April 17 at Gammanpura where the victims and other locals had beaten up Anees after he misbehaved with a widow. Sengar said Anees has 17 criminal cases against him. Station Officer, Pakwada police station, D P Pundheer said that Anees confessed to the crime during questioning and said that he, along with six others, had murdered the farmers to avenge the attack on him.

Lucknow, Thu May 09 2013, 03:12 hr

Source Express News Service