The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday arrested a man for allegedly killing the father of a 15-year-old rape survivor in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad city, PTI reported on Thursday. The man, Achaman Upadhaya, was accused of raping the Class 11 student in August but was not arrested.
“Achaman Upadhaya, who was accused of killing the father of a rape victim, has been arrested following an encounter,” said Superintendent of Police (City) Prabal Pratap Singh. “The police had announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 on the accused.” Upadhaya allegedly kill the 50-year-old father in New Tilak Nagar area on Monday.
During the police encounter, Upadhaya was accompanied by two of his associates. One of his aides has been arrested while the other escaped, said the police. A policeman also suffered a bullet injury.
The girl’s family on Wednesday said that they had earlier informed the police that Upadhyaya had threatened to kill them if they did not drop the rape case against him. The police, however, never took it seriously, the family alleged.
On January 6, the family filed an online complaint, addressed to the chief minister. In the complaint, they said the accused was “pressuring the family to reach a compromise” and had “threatened to kill them”, reported The Indian Express, which has accessed the complaint. The family never received a response to the complaint.
Soon after the killing, three police officers were suspended. “In preliminary inquiry, three policemen have been found guilty of negligence – two station in charges and one in charge of the local police post,” A Satish Ganesh, a senior police officer, told NDTV.
Firozabad Superintendent of Police Sachindra Patel also admitted to the lapses. “The officers didn’t take the death threat calls seriously and this is why three policemen have been suspended,” he said, according to The Indian Express.
On Monday, the girl’s father was returning home when four men intercepted and shot him. The accused fled. “I was trying to forget what happened with me… the rape… and just then he killed my father,” the girl told The Indian Express. “Police have provided us security now, why couldn’t they do it earlier when we told them about the threat?”
Upadhaya had allegedly raped the Class 11 student in August last year. However, he was never arrested. But his property had reportedly been seized on court orders. The girl said the police had initially refused to file a first information report. “It was filed three days later at another police station,” she told The Indian Express.
However, a senior police officer refuted the allegations. “We received a complaint and didn’t delay action,” the officer told the daily. “The girl went to her relative’s place after the incident. They were also trying to settle the matter. A case of kidnapping, attempt to murder and POCSO Act was registered.”
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