Dadri lynching: Kin of accused refuse to perform last rites, demand compensation
The family of an accused, who died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday due to kidney and respiratory failure, in the Dadri lynching case has refused to perform his last rites until their demands are met.
The family of an accused, who died in a Delhi hospital on Tuesday due to kidney and respiratory failure, in the Dadri lynching case has refused to perform his last rites until their demands are met.
Ravin Sisodia and 17 other men, including three juveniles, were arrested last year for allegedly lynching Mohammad Ikhlaq and grievously injuring his son Danish in Uttar Pradesh’s Bisada village over allegations of slaughtering a cow and storing its meat for consumption.
Ravin’s family is demanding Rs 1 crore as compensation, a government job for his wife, an FIR against jail authorities and the arrest of Ikhlaq’s brother Jaan Muhammad for cow slaughter. Ravin was unemployed and married a year before going to jail. He has a 9-month-old daughter.
“We will not perform his last rites till our demands are met,” Ranveer Sisodia, father of Ravin, said.
Tension is simmering in the village as a number of residents gathered outside Ravin’s house. Villagers burnt the effigies of CM Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav accusing the police of biased probe and foul play in Ravin’s death. They also shouted slogans against Akhilesh and Mulayam.
Controversial BJP MLA Suresh Rana and other right-wing leaders visited the village on late Wednesday evening after the body arrived.
As the village continued to remain tense, the administration posted a heavy deployment of policemen and imposed prohibitory orders in the area.
“We have deployed a company of provincial armed constabulary (PAC), 200 constables, 30 sub-inspectors, 15 station house officers and five circle officers at Bisada as precautionary measures,” Abhishek Yadav, superintendent of police (rural), Gautam Budh Nagar, said.
“The situation is under control. The villagers are cooperating. The police teams are on a standby. We have forwarded the demands of deceased’s family to the government,” Rajesh Kumar Singh, Dadri’s sub-divisional magistrate, said.
Ravin was admitted to the Noida district hospital after his health deteriorated in the Greater Noida district jail. His family had sought the court’s permission to shift him to a hospital following his deteriorating health on September 30. The court had asked the jail authorities to do help him shift to a hospital.
He was shifted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in Delhi on Tuesday where he died.
Ravin’s family has alleged foul play accusing jail authorities of beating their son, who was in jail for the last one year, and threatened to stage a stir.
The jail administration, however, denied the allegations.
“Everything will be clear in the reports of judicial inquiry that has been ordered. The deceased was not beaten up by anybody in the jail. We are waiting for the postmortem report to know the reason of death,” ML Yadav, jail superintendent of Greater Noida district jail, said.
Doctors at the LNJP hospital said the Ravin died due to kidney and lungs failure, however, the final postmortem reports to ascertain the reasons of his death is yet to come.
“He came to hospital in very bad condition. He had a chronic kidney disease and uncontrolled diabetes. His platelet count was not low. He died due to kidney and lungs failure. Autopsy reports are awaited, however, we are not authorised to share it,” said Dr JC Passey, Medical Director, LNJP Hospital.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the director general of police and director general of prisons of Uttar Pradesh over Ravin’s death and sought their response within four weeks. The commission took suo motto cognizance of the matter following media reports.
“Observing that the contents of the news report raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of the prisoner, the commission has issued notices…,” the commission said in a statement.
