Lucknow: A 45-year-old man died under controversial circumstances following a land dispute in Siswara Madarpurwa village of Shravasti district on Tuesday night, prompting police to register a murder case and triggering action against revenue and police personnel.
The case witnessed a dramatic shift within hours. Kamlesh was embroiled in a dispute over two biswa of land with villager Deshraj Verma alias Goothe. Family members alleged that Kamlesh produced a court stay order, after which he was attacked with sticks and spades by the rival side, leading to his death. Following the incident, District Magistrate Annapurna Garg suspended revenue inspector Santosh Kumar Tiwari and lekhpal Dinesh Patel, while Superintendent of Police Rahul Bhati ordered three police personnel to be attached to the police lines pending inquiry. The deceased’s family has also levelled serious allegations against police personnel. They claimed Kamlesh was assaulted before being taken into custody and was later pushed or thrown from a moving vehicle. His pregnant daughter-in-law alleged that both police personnel and Deshraj Verma assaulted Kamlesh. She further claimed that when she tried to intervene, women police personnel struck her abdomen with a baton. Family members further alleged that police officials were attempting to facilitate the rival group’s possession of the disputed land.
On Tuesday night, the district administration claimed that Kamlesh sustained fatal injuries after allegedly jumping from a moving police vehicle while being taken to the police station in connection with the dispute. However, on Wednesday, police registered a murder case based on a complaint filed by his family. Keshav Ram, a joint team of revenue and police officials was present at the disputed site on Tuesday evening when the rival group allegedly attempted to take possession of the land, according to his brother.