Youth killed by suspected cattle smugglers in UP's Gorakhpur, villagers clash with police

Gorakhpur (UP), Sep 16 (PTI) Tensions flared up in a Gorakhpur village on Tuesday as a confrontation between villagers and alleged cattle smugglers here spiralled into violence, leaving a 20-year-old youth dead and a suspect critically injured.

Senior police officers were also injured in stone pelting when they tried to "rescue" the suspect who was being thrashed by angry villagers, prompting authorities to rush additional security forces to the violence-hit Mauachapi village located in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's pocket borough.

A village youth, who was abducted by some of the smugglers when they were trying to flee, was later found dead, following which villagers blocked the Gorakhpur Pipraich road and clashed with the police on Tuesday. CM Adityanath assured that "the culprits will not be spared", and senior officials arrived here to restore law and order The trouble began late on Monday night, when 10-12 "smugglers" arrived in two pickup vans and allegedly tried to break into a furniture shop belonging to one Durgesh Gupta, according to the police.

The shop's upper floor housed a travel agency where a relative of Gupta was sleeping. On hearing the shutters being forced, he alerted Durgesh's son, Deepak.

Deepak rushed to the spot on a scooter, raising an alarm. Nearly 10 15 villagers followed him. Startled, the smugglers opened fire and tried to flee. In the chaos, they dragged Deepak into one of their vehicles and sped away.

Meanwhile, villagers caught hold of one smuggler, torched his vehicle and thrashed him severely.

When the police reached the scene and attempted to rescue the injured man, locals clashed with them, pelting stones. Superintendent of Police (North) Jitendra Srivastava and Pipraich Station House Officer suffered serious injuries in the incident, officials said.

Later, the police found Deepak's blood-soaked body around 4 km away, which triggered protests in the area. Deepak's father Durgesh Gupta alleged police negligence, claiming that his son could have been saved if authorities had acted promptly.

DIG Shiv S Channappa and SSP Raj Karan Nayyar met the victim's family and promised swift action.

District Magistrate Deepak Meena described the incident as "extremely tragic" and said action is underway to nab the culprits.

"One accused has been caught. We have spoken to the family, and their demands have been discussed. Whatever assistance can be provided at both local and higher levels will be ensured. First, the post-mortem will be conducted and cremation performed, after which we will again hold talks with the family," he said.

Deepak's inconsolable mother demanded that her son's killers be given the death penalty.

SSP Raj Karan Nayyar, who camped at the site along with senior officials, said the situation was later brought under control, with Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and additional forces deployed.

Deepak's family has demanded Rs 1 crore compensation, a government job and strict action against both the smugglers and erring policemen.

SSP Nayyar said the report about the incident was received around 3.30 AM. The smugglers had arrived in two pickup vans, one of which was able to flee the spot while the other got stuck, and the young man (Deepak) had gone after it.

"One of the people from the stuck pickup van was caught by the villagers, and he was hospitalised. The police immediately reached the spot.

"The youth (Deepak) received injuries to his head, apparently because of which he unfortunately died. The autopsy report is awaited. A complaint has been received from the family, and further legal actions have been initiated," Nayyar told reporters.

The police did not disclose what the alleged cattle smugglers were doing in the village or why they attempted to break into the shop.

Nayyar said some of the accused have been identified, and five police teams are working on the case to apprehend them.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the people were angry because the administration tried to protect the smugglers and called the incident a "major failure" of the chief minister.

"The BJP government is responsible for the public outrage that has erupted in Gorakhpur against animal smugglers protected by those in power due to administrative-collusive complicity..." Yadav posted on X in Hindi.

"If this is happening in UP's 'chief city,' it means that there is a chief partnership of someone in this 'gorakhdhandha', or that this city has also slipped from their hands, and like entire UP, crime is at its peak here too, and the criminals' writ runs. In both situations, this is a 'chief failure'," he said.

Adityanath, who is the head priest of the Gorakhnath Muth, has been elected multiple times as Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur, his "karm bhoomi", since becoming a monk.

Yadav hoped that the bereaved family would get justice. "BJP jaaye to insaaf aaye (The BJP's departure will herald justice)," he remarked. PTI COR KIS RT RT