Hapur lynching: A two-judge bench has referred the case to the Constitution bench. (File)
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government in the Hapur lynching case during a hearing on a plea filed by a witness seeking protection. Fixing the next date of hearing on August 28, the apex court ordered the Meerut range Inspector General to submit a complete report of the incident.
A cattle-trader was beaten to death and a 65-year-old man was severely injured by a mob allegedly in a “cow-related matter” while police insisted that it was the fallout of a road rage incident.
Qasim (45) was beaten to death by a mob at a sugarcane field in Hapur’s Pilakhuwa and 65-year-old Samiuddin was injured in the incident. Police had arrested two men — Yudhishtir Singh and Rakesh Sisodia — on charges of murder. According to the FIR filed at the Pilakhuwa police station, the incident was the result of a scuffle between unidentified bike-borne men and the two victims. But the family of Samiuddin and the two men arrested insisted that it was related to “cattle”.
Days after the incident, a photograph of him being dragged with three policemen in the frame went viral causing a stir in the UP Police. The UP DGP in a statement said, “We apologise for the insensitive manner in which the victim was handled by our policemen. All the three policemen seen in the picture have been transferred to police lines and an enquiry has been ordered in the incident..”