Bishada in Uttar Pradesh is on the boil once again as villagers refused to cremate the body of 22-year-old Ravi, accused in the Dadri lynching case.
Ravi alias Robin died at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital in Delhi on Wednesday of kidney and respiratory failure.
Villagers draped his coffin in a tricolour, saying he had been martyred protecting “Hindu values”.
Tensions rose as the body reached the village, as villagers outrightly rejected Ravi’s death report claiming he was murdered.
Heavy police force was also deployed in the area.
Seeing the body draped in a tricolour, policemen and administration officials, however, preferred to remain mum as objections might have sparked violence in the area.
“Villagers demanded Rs 1 crore for deceased’s family, arrest of Akhlaq’s brother Jaan Mohammad in a cow slaughter case and an FIR against the jailer. Villagers told administration that they will not cremate the body till their demands are met,” said Sanjay Rana, Bharatiya Janata Party leader and father of one of the accused.
Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate N P Singh said the state government would give its consent for a Central Bureau Investigation probe if the deceased’s family is not satisfied with the ongoing inquiry.
The DM said a judicial inquiry had been initiated, adding that the Chief Judicial Magistrate is conducting it. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has announced Rs 10 lakh compensation to the deceased Ravi’s wife Pooja.
Uttar Pradesh Police claimed that Ravi was suffering from high fever and his death was suspected to be due to dengue.
Ravi’s brother Vicky, however, claimed he was “assaulted by police in jail due to which he sustained injuries. Unlike, what police is saying, he was not suffering from any fever.
The state government had earlier said that the jailer of the prison where Ravi was held would be transferred once the probe found him guilty.
But in an apparent attempt to pacify villagers, the jailer S K Pandey was transferred to Lucknow headquarters.
The National Human Rights Commission has also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and demanded reply from district administration.
The post-mortem was conducted on Wednesday in Delhi under the supervision of a Metropolitan Magistrate from a local court.
Image: Ravi Sisodia was arrested last year for the murder of Mohammad Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri. Photograph: ANI/Twitter
