The Uttar Pradesh police shot a 27-year-old man identified as Chandan Verma in the leg early Saturday while recovering a pistol linked to the recent murder of an entire Dalit family in Amethi.
The incident took place during the operation led by sub-inspector Madan Kumar Singh from the Shivratanganj Police Station who was taking possession of the weapons recovered from near the canal track.
According to the police statement, as Inspector Singh was checking the pistol and its magazines, Verma tried to snatch the gun with the intent to kill. In response, another Inspector Sachchidanand Rai present at the scene fired a shot that struck Verma in his right leg.
A day before the incident, Verma escaped and managed to get to Noida, he was arrested while on his way to Delhi.
Meanwhile, the chief Medical Officer of Amethi, Dr Anshuman Singh said that Verma was admitted to the community health centre in Tiloi and was shifted to the district hospital. “He had received bullet wounds on the right leg only. He is out of danger now,” said the CMO.
The background of this tragic incident involves the brutal killing of Sunil Kumar, a 35-year-old school teacher alongside his wife, Poonam, 32 and their two minor daughters, Drishti and Suni in the Ahorwa Bhawani area of Amethi on Friday.
The brazen wipeout of the Dalit family has drawn widespread denunciation of the Uttar Pradesh government.
The police claimed that the murders stemmed from an illicit relationship between Verma and Poonam which had turned sour recently. This relationship had led to previous complaints against Verma under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Verma reportedly shot the family members 10 times before attempting to take his own life. However, his suicide attempt failed when the gun misfired. Authorities are currently investigating the case. A country-made pistol and a motorcycle which were used for the commission of the crime have been seized.
After the tragedy, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, condemned the killing and expressed condolences to the aggrieved families, Meanwhile, the opposition vehemently criticized the law and order situation in the ruled state.
Opposition launches a sharp attack
“The incident of the brutal murder of four members of a Dalit family in the Amethi district of UP is extremely sad and worrying. The government should also take strict action against the culprits and the policemen there so that the criminals do not remain fearless,” Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said on X in Hindi.
Congress’s UP president Ajay Rai said the incident shows that in the poor law and order of the Yogi government, a person is not safe even inside the house.
“The rule of law has been destroyed in the state. The flag of terror of goons, miscreants, and criminals is flying high in UP and no step of the government is visible in the direction of ending this terror,” Rai said.
“The Yogi government should answer how much worse will Uttar Pradesh be made now?” he wrote on X.
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