Dalit man found murdered in Hathras, second killing within 15 days

Body of a 32-year-old Dalit man was recovered from the field of Seth Phool Chand Bagla College in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, early Wednesday morning, police said.

Bricks with blood stains were recovered from the site.

Victim Amit Singh alias Pinku was a resident of Khandari Garhi area and was a daily wage whitewasher. On Wednesday morning, locals spotted his body in the field of Bagla PG College when they went to answer nature’s call.

They informed the police, which had to face stern resistance from Pinku’s family while taking the body for post-mortem. Following assurances from Hathras superintendent of police (SP) Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan that the accused will be arrested soon, the family allowed the police to take the body.

While the police have registered an FIR based on the family’s complaint, no arrest has been made.

The victim’s brother Rohtas told police that Pinku had left the house saying he was going to buy peanuts. “He met me in the market and said some people were trying to kill him but would not be able to execute their plans.”

He added, “On Tuesday night, two locals saw Pinku with Noor Nabi and two other unidentified people. When he did not return, we started looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. The next morning, people told us about the recovery of his body.”

Tension gripped Khandari Garhi area after the incident as this was second murder of a Dalit man within 15 days.

On January 31, Amit Kumar Gautam of the same locality was found murdered over personal enmity. The accused in Gautam’s murder has been arrested.