Bike-borne assailants shot a Dalit woman in Meerut on Saturday, days before she was scheduled to submit her statement as a prime witness in her son’s murder case, The Indian Express reported on Monday. Doctors said Savitri Devi sustained severe brain injury and is in a critical condition.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have initiated an inquiry into the shooting and the absence of the police gunner who was assigned to protect the 55-year-old outside her home in Rajapur village. On February 1, Devi had requested Meerut Superintendent Manzil Saini for security till she gave her statement on February 6.
Devi’s son Chetain was shot dead in 2015 after an altercation with his neighbours. The police filed a First Information Report against 14 people, all of whom are from the Jat community. Three of the accused named in the FIR are out on bail.
The police have not made any arrests yet. “Around 10.30 am on Saturday, Savitri Devi was working in a field around a kilometre from her home,” said Station House Officer of Saroorpur Police Station Rishi Pal Singh. “The assailants arrived there on a bike and fired at her.”
Circle Officer Sardana Santosh Kumar Singh said the police gunner assigned to protect Devi claimed he was feeling unwell. “On Saturday, Nand Kishore returned to the police station and said he was feeling unwell,” Kumar Singh told The Indian Express. “Another gunner was sent to the victim’s house, but she was attacked before he reached.”
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