Yogi Announces Rs 2-lakh Compensation for Kin of Muslim Man Killed for Celebrating BJP Victory in UP

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for a 25-year-old Muslim man’s family, who died of injuries after allegedly being beaten up for celebrating the BJP’s election victory. Adityanath also directed police officials to conduct an unbiased probe into the matter.

The incident took place in Kathgarhi village under Ramkola police station on March 20, following which the man, identified as Babar Ali, succumbed to serious injuries while undergoing treatment at a Lucknow hospital on March 25.

Officials said station house officer DK Singh of Ramkola police station was removed from his post following the incident. The cop was sent to police lines, a police official added.

According to police, Ali was thrashed by his neighbours for celebrating the BJP’s victory in the recently concluded assembly elections. Police, so far, have arrested two persons identified as Arif and Tahid while a hunt is on for two others booked in the case.

Police said Ali was celebrating the saffron party’s victory by distributing sweets and bursting crackers. A case was registered against four persons on the basis of a complaint by his wife, Fatima Khatoon.

Ali’s brother Chande Alam said many in the locality were threatening his brother over the past four months as he had campaigned for the BJP. He claimed that some people even pressured him to vote for the ‘cycle’ (party symbol of the Samajwadi Party).

Alam said Ali maintained that it was his right and voted for the BJP. He also said his brother approached the police several times, but no one paid heed. Zaibunisa, Ali’s mother, also alleged that her son received threats and that even the gram pradhan backed those threatening her child.

Police further said Ali’s family and their neighbours were relatives and had a dispute over the drainage channel. “They were asked to live peacefully,” said ASP Ritesh Kumar Singh.

According to reports, Ali had campaigned for local MLA PN Pathak during the assembly elections. On March 20, his neighbours, who had been threatening him, surrounded him in his house and started beating him up with sticks, police said. When he climbed onto the roof of the house to save himself, they threw him down, they added.

On Sunday, when Babar’s body reached the village, his family had refused to perform the last rites and demanded the arrest of the culprits. But, when Pathak and other officials reached the spot, the family agreed to bury him.

(With PTI inputs)

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