Mayawati expresses outrage after 'OBC' man killed in Meerut with brick on Jan 5

Meerut (UP), Jan 11 (PTI) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Sunday expressed displeasure over killing of a youth in the Sardhana area of Meerut, reacting nearly a week after the incident.

Describing the incident as extremely brutal and shameful, Mayawati urged the government and the administration to remain constantly vigilant and proactive to prevent such crimes.

In a post on social media platform X, she said the killing of a youth belonging to the Kashyap community, categorised under the Other Backward Classes (OBC), deserved the strongest condemnation.

She stressed that anti-social and criminal elements must have fear of the law.

Responding to Mayawati's post, the Meerut police said the case was not recent and that an FIR for murder had been registered, with the crime solved within 24 hours of the incident.

The accused, they said, is a minor who has been produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a child reform home.

According to the police, the incident took place on Monday on the Akhepur-“Rardhana Road.

The victim was identified as Rohit alias Sonu (28), a resident of the Kila locality in Muzaffarnagar city.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the crime followed an argument over loud music being played in a tempo. The accused, a 16-year-old tempo driver, allegedly assaulted Rohit with a brick, killing him.

Circle Officer (Sardhana) Ashutosh Kumar said the accused first befriended Rohit, made him consume liquor while he himself drank an energy drink and later struck him on the head with a brick.

To conceal his identity, the accused dragged the body about 15 metres to a spot near a school wall and set it on fire using clothes, dry leaves and oil.

The incident came to light when a school watchman noticed a fire late Monday night and informed the police. The body was identified the next day.

Family members said Rohit worked as a confectioner in Mumbai and had come to his village to look for a bride.

The police said the accused was identified through a barcode on a liquor pouch recovered from the spot and CCTV footage from a liquor shop, leading to the swift disclosure of the murder case. PTI COR ABN AMJ AMJ