The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested another accused in the death of Chandan Gupta during the violence in Kasganj city on January 26, ANI reported. Before Salman, the police had arrested Saleem, the main accused in the murder case, on January 31.
The development comes after an independent fact-finding team on Monday claimed that the clashes that broke out in Kasganj were “pre-meditated and well-planned”. The team also questioned why political parties were silent about the violence.
The report said the incident was not spontaneous but an “engineered act of violence” to “spread communal hatred”. It also alleged that there was no evidence to suggest that the police had arrested or questioned the motorcyclists who participated in the Tiranga Yatra on Republic Day.
The team was led by retired Inspector General of the Uttar Pradesh Police SR Darapuri and included journalists and former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union President Mohit Pandey, among others. It said Gupta’s wounds showed he was killed from a close range, not from a distance.
Meanwhile, Gupta’s family met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Tuesday and demanded that the 22-year-old be declared a martyr, according toNews18. “We met the chief minister and asked him to give the status of a martyr to my brother, but he did not assure us of anything,” Gupta’s sister told the news network. “We also requested him to take strict action against the accused.”
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