Protest Over Road Crash Death In UP Turns Violent; 5 Policemen Injured In Stone Pelting

A protest turned violent in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia village on Thursday morning. A 25-year-old man's death in a road accident resulted in an intense stir, when the protesting group starting pelting stones at police officers.

Five policemen were injured, officials said. 

On Wednesday night, Vishkarma Paswan, 25, died in an accident on NH31, after being hit by an unidentified vehicle. Locals staged a protest with the dead body on the road, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjay Yadav said.

A police team along with tehsildar, Sadar, Gulab Chandra rushed to the spot to mollify the protesters but ended up in a heated argument with them after the tehsildar slapped a villager, the ASP said.

After this, the crowd turned violent and indulged in heavy brick-batting, in which five policemen, including Deputy Superintendent of Police, City, Arun Kumar Singh, were injured, Yadav said.

Senior officials led by Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada reached the spot with additional force and controlled the situation by removing the protesters from the highway, he said.

A case has been lodged against 35 people, and six of them have been taken into custody, the ASP said.

Additional force has been deployed in the area, he added. 

With PTI inputs