Muzaffarnagar/Lucknow : In a huge embarrassment to ruling SP in Uttar Pradesh, an eight-year-old boy was killed in celebratory firing by party workers in Shamli district that led Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday to order the immediate removal of the area’s SDM and Deputy SP. In an ugly fallout from the incident, two crew members of a leading English news channel who went to the spot for coverage of the tragedy and agitation by angry locals were allegedly attacked by local SP leader and MLA Nahid Hasan and his aides.
The boy, Sami, who was passing by Kairana area in a rickshaw, was hit during the firing by SP workers on Sunday, Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar Jha said.
The workers were celebrating the victory of party candidate Nafisa in the local body polls from the town, he said, adding the boy later succumbed to his injuries. As irate locals blocked the Khatima-Panipat Highway to protest the death of the boy, police said a case has been registered against 10 persons, including Nafisa’s husband under relevant sections of the IPC. In Lucknow, IG (Law and Order) Bhagwan Swaroop said an FIR has been lodged against 10 persons of whom five were named.
Those who have been named include Gayum, husband of newly elected block head Mumtaz, Inaam alias Dhuri and Nafees alias Chotta. “Three persons have been taken into custody and are being quizzed,” he said. With the incident likely to give a handle to the Samajwadi Party’s rivals to slam the state government during the ongoing Budget session of the Assembly, the chief minister went on a damage control mode, instructing Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan to immediately remove Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP) of Shamli and take disciplinary action against them.–PTI
