Uttar Pradesh’s government has been receiving flak in connection to the increasing crime rate in the state. The anger erupted on Twitter after a video clip of a girl crying and seeking justice for her father went viral on Monday.
A 50-year old farmer, Awanish Sharma was allegedly shot dead in Nauzarpur village under Sasni Police Station in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh by few persons while he was working in fields. Awanish Sharma had filed a police complaint against the main accused and SP leader Gaurav Sharma in July 2018 for molesting his daughter. He was arrested and remained in jail for hardly one month. Since then, he has been out on bail.
“An argument between the family of the survivor and the accused’s family outside a village temple ended up in the shooting incident, leading to the death of the survivor’s father on the way to hospital,” said police on Tuesday.
One of the accused, Lalit Sharma, was nabbed by the police on Tuesday.
Hathras Deputy Superintendent of Police (Sadar) Ruchi Gupta stated that a case has been registered against the main accused Gaurav Sharma and his aides under Section 302 (murder), Section 147 (rioting), and Section 148 (rioting) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR names prime accused Gaurav Sharm, Rahitash Sharma, Nikhil Sharma, Lalit Sharma and two others.
The girl recalled the incident and told that the wife and aunt of Gaurav Sharma visited a local temple on Monday. She was also present there along with her sister to offer prayers. An argument between the women of both families escalated. “Gaurav had also come there and started passing comments on me and when I replied back, his aunt and wife misbehaved with me,” said the girl. Her father and Gaurav intervened in the fight but the argument turned worse. They left the place and threatened to teach them a lesson.
At around 3.30 pm, Gaurav Sharma came along with his friends and threatened to withdraw the case. Shortly, he opened fire on the middle-aged man.
Taking a strict note of the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the police to invoke National Security Act against the assailants.
NSA empowers the government to detain a person in case the authorities are satisfied that he/she is a threat to national security or to prevent him/her from disrupting public order
