Shiva Goswami, accompanied by his mother and grandmother, was reportedly playing by the side of a road that connects Colonelganj and Paraspur in the eastern Uttar Pradesh district when he was hit by one of the cars of the minister. Eyewitnesses and the family of the boy alleged that no one in the convoy stopped to help the child. His father claims that the minister himself was in one of the cars which had garlands on it.
"The child fell after he was hit by the car. The minister sped away. The guards put a break to their vehicle but they went away," said the child's father Vishwanath.
Om Prakash Rajbhar, however, has claimed he was 25 kms away, in a different car, when the incident happened.
The five-year-old boy's father alleged that Om Prakash Rajbhar was in one of the cars in Gonda.
Angry locals reportedly set fire at several places in the area.
Om Prakash Rajbhar heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, an ally of the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh and a minister in Yogi Adityanath's cabinet.
Following a complaint by the boy's father, a case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against unknown people for now. "The police is trying to find out who was driving the car. There is no pressure from anyone. The police will act in a proper manner," Gonda District Magistrate JB Singh said.
Three weeks ago, in a video that went viral on social media, Om Prakash Rajbhar warned that parents who fail to send their children to schools will be locked up in police stations without food and water.
In July, Mr Rajbhar threatened to launch a protest sit-in if a top official in his home district is not removed.
