UP Police apologise for lynching being dragged by a crowd

To save itself from further embarrassment, Uttar Pradesh Police apologised after a photograph of a victim of Hapur lynching being dragged by a crowd in the presence of three cops went viral on social media. The cops seen in the picture have been transferred to Police Lines, an official said.

Kasim (45) was lynched after a minor tiff with a man on a motorcycle in Bacheda village in Pilakhuwa area on Monday. The biker called his friends who then beat up Kasim and his friend Samayuddin.

In a tweet, UP Police on Thursday night apologised for the incident and said that the three policemen seen in the picture have been transferred to Police Lines and an inquiry has been ordered. 

“This picture seems to have been taken when the police reached the spot to shift the injured to a police vehicle and because of non-availability of an ambulance at that moment, the victim was unfortunately carried this way,” DGP Headquarters, UP Police tweeted. “Admittedly, the policemen should have been more sensitive in their conduct. Humane concerns got ignored in the urgency of saving a life and maintaining law and order. As is clear from the picture the victim was rushed to the hospital by policemen in a UP100 PRV (police van),” it added.

The Hapur police claimed that Kasim and his friend were assaulted after a scuffle with some men from a neighbouring village. The police registered a murder case and arrested two persons. “There were rumours of cow slaughter but they have not been found to be true in the investigations so far,” SP of Hapur, Sankalp stated.