25-year-old killed as operation by UP police goes awry in Dholpur

ALWAR: A 25-year-old youth was killed in a bungled operation by the Uttar Pradesh police at Saipur village in Rajasthan's Dholpur district on Thursday morning. The UP police opened fire after a scuffle broke out when they attempted to arrest an 80-year old man, allegedly a cattle thief, hiding in the village.
This is the third such incident in Rajasthan in which police from another state have attempted to arrest a criminal here without informing local police. The family members of the deceased, identified as Rameshwar Gurjar, have filed an FIR against the UP cops.

"A police team from Jagner police station in Agra had come to arrest one Kilol Singh Gurjar (80) of Saipur village.

The police faced stiff resistance from family members and the villagers," said an official. Gurjar is wanted by Agra police for stealing buffaloes.

According to police sources, as soon as the UP police barged into Gurjar's house, his family members raised an alarm and asked other villagers to help them. At 11.30pm, when Gurjar, flanked by two constables, was being huddled into a police vehicle, villagers surrounded the police team and attacked them with bricks and sticks.

"The UP police then fired a few shots to disperse the mob. The villagers too shot at them. In the confusion that followed the exchanged of fire, a youth got shot and was found dead at the spot," said an official.

Heavily outnumbered and under fierce attack, the Uttar Pradesh police team decided to retreat. "The cops hid in the forests. Around 1am, they informed the Dholpur police about their ordeal. A deputy SP was sent to rescue the cops," said an official. Ten members of the UP police team have sustained injuries.

The Dholpur police said the UP cops have also lodged a complaint and the matter was being investigated. According to the Rajasthan police, it has not been not confirmed if the youth was killed in the police firing. A detailed FSL and ballistic report willestablishthecircumstances of his death, they said.

The incident has come close on the heels of a similar botched operation by the Chennai police in Pali on December 13 in which one of their inspectors was shot dead while attempting to arrest arobber. The Chennai policehad failed to inform the Pali police. Similarly, in October, a local gangster was shot down in Jalore district by the Andhra Pradesh police in a broad daylight encounter. The local police were not informed in this case also.