The Allahabad Police on Tuesday said that the main accused in the murder of a law student in the city is linked to a politician, NDTV reported. The police said Vijay Shankar Singh has links with Rashtriya Lok Dal politician and strongman Chandra Bhadra Singh alias Sonu Singh from Sultanpur.
“We have many photos that link the main accused to Sonu Singh,” senior police officer Akash Kulhary said. “We are sending a team to Sultanpur and will question the accused’s family members, and if required, we will question Sonu Singh too. We have many leads on the main accused and we hope to arrest him soon.”
The police had on Sunday arrested Munna Chauhan, a waiter at a restaurant where Dilip Saroj was assaulted on February 9. Chauhan allegedly hit Saroj on the head with an iron rod and then took him to the hospital.
The assault was caught on CCTV. In the footage, Vijay Shankar Singh is seen hitting the Dalit student, who is lying unconscious on the ground. Saroj died after being thrashed with a hockey stick, an iron rod and bricks on Friday.
The Allahabad Police said on Tuesday that Rashtriya Lok Dal strongman Sonu Singh has many criminal cases against him, including murder and rioting. He was a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2013. He then quit the BJP to join Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal.
On Monday, a group of students shouted slogans, pelted stones and torched a bus in Allahabad to protest Saroj’s murder. Police teams in riot gear were called in to control the students, who were from Allahabad University. The Rapid Action Force was deployed at the university campus on Tuesday, The Indian Express reported.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath has announced compensation of Rs 20 lakh for Saroj’s family.
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