The temple town of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh was on the edge on Sunday after a 25-year-old shopkeeper died of his injuries allegedly sustained during a brawl with a group of Muslim men over a week ago, The Times of India reported.
Shopkeepers in the Chowk Bazaar area closed their shops and demanded the arrest of the men who thrashed lassi seller Bharat Yadav on the night of May 18. As the tension simmered, police personnel were deployed in the market area in large numbers, reported Jagran.
According to the police, Yadav and his brother Pankaj Yadav used to run the lassi shop. They reportedly got into an argument with four men when they demanded money for the lassi sold to the group. The men came back later with at least 13 people and allegedly beat up the brothers. The police complaint filed by Pankaj Yadav identified two of the men as Mohammad Hanif and Mohammad Shahrukh. The police have registered a case against 15 other unidentified men.
The police, meanwhile, claimed Yadav had been discharged from the hospital earlier and was readmitted with other health problems. Mathura Senior Superintendent of Police Satyarth Aniruddh Pankaj told The Times of India that the shopkeeper’s body has been sent for autopsy. He said the situation in the town was under control now and appropriate action would be taken on the basis of the police investigation.
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