Click to play videoChandigarh: A late night party ended in tragedy for 22-year-old Kuldip on Sunday night. Kuldip was returning home to Bhiwani in Haryana when a group of policemen shot him in the head thinking he was a criminal.
Kuldeep’s brother Vikas, who along with another friend was with the victim when the incident took place, alleged that they were proceeding towards their house on a motorcycle when a police van suddenly stopped them.
“Policemen got down from a gypsy and shot him dead at point blank range,” Kuldip’s brother Vikas said.
Kuldip's death sparked off widespread protests in Haryana as angry relatives and supporters pelted stones at a police station in Bhiwani.
Protestors forcibly pulled down shutters of shops and shouted anti-government slogans. They also tried to disrupt classes in educational institutions.
A mob gathered near Ghantaghar Chowk adjacent to the Civil Hospital where Kuldeep’s body was kept, and set ablaze a police motorcycle and damaged another vehicle, prompting police to use batons to disperse the protestors.
Additional police contingents have been deployed in the affected areas while Hansi Chowk in Bhiwani has been sealed.
The policeman who pulled the trigger and seven of his colleagues are in custody. However, the agitators are demanding that a murder case be lodged against the police personnel.
However, District Magistrate of Bhiwani, Satya Prakash said, “It was an accident. They have been booked under Section 302. We are inquiring about the involvement of other seven policemen. Magisterial inquiry has also been initiated. After that we will decide the action against the policemen.”
This is the second time in the last two months that Haryana policemen have shot an innocent due to mistaken identity.
Meanwhile, the Opposition is now crying foul. General Secretary of Indian National Lok Dal, Abhay Chautala said, “The Chief Minister and his government claim that they have chased away anti-social elements from the state. In reality the police kill innocent people in fake encounters.”
Even as an inquiry has been ordered into the incident, the damage has already been done for the Haryana Police.
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