Two have been arrested, after a man who was out on bail in a sexual assault case allegedly shot dead the survivor’s father in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras. The incident took place on Monday, 1 March.
The accused is still absconding.
Gaurav Sharma, the accused, was jailed for a month in 2018 after a molestation case was filed against him by the woman's father. He was granted bail by a local court after a month.
What Happened
An argument took place on Monday evening between the family of the survivor and the accused outside a village temple, reported news agency IANS. The survivor’s father succumbed to the gun shot injury on the way to the hospital, NDTV reported quoting the police.
Hathras Superintendent of Police Vineet Jaiswal said, "The man who died, had filed a case against Gaurav Sharma in July 2018 for molestation. The accused went to jail and got bail after a month.
Since then, both families were hostile to each other. The wife and aunt of the main accused had gone to a village temple to pray where both daughters of the deceased were also present.
The women had an argument. The accused – Gaurav Sharma – and the woman's father intervened and the argument between the men intensified. After this, Gaurav flew into a rage and called some boys from his family to the scene and shot at the man."
A video shot by local journalists outside local police station shows the survivor crying and pleading for justice. "Please give me justice... please give me justice. First, he molested me and now he has shot my father. He had come to our village. There were six-seven people. My father had no enmity against anyone. His name is Gaurav Sharma," she can be heard saying in the clip.
What Action Has Been Taken?
Two people Rohitash Sharma and Nikhil Sharma were arrested in connection with the case. A cash reward of ₹ 25,000 each was announced on information leading to their arrest, reported PTI.
A cash reward of Rs one lakh has also been announced for information on main accused Gaurav Sharma which may lead to his arrest, media reports said, citing senior police officials.
Five teams have also been formed to trace Gaurav Sharma, a police officer informed PTI.
A total of four accused have been named in the police complaint.
ADG Prashant Kumar also, as per ANI, said that: “If local administration wants, it can initiate National Security Act (NSA) proceedings against them (the accused).”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also directed officials to take strict action in the matter and to invoke the National Security Act against all the accused involved in the case, reported news agency ANI.
Just months ago, Hathras gabbed national headlines after a 19-year-old Dalit woman was raped and murdered, allegedly by four upper caste men and was ‘forcibly cremated’ by the Uttar Pradesh Police on 30 September.
(With inputs from IANS, ANI, and NDTV)
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