Police can’t protect their own, what else could be expected: Son of Ghazipur cop killed in mob violence

The son of police constable Suresh Vats, who was killed in the stone-pelting in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur on Saturday has slammed the UP Police, saying if they can’t protect one of their own, what else can be expected from them. Vats came under the attack of stone-pelters while he and his team were returning from their duty at Prime Minister Narendra Modi rally in Ghazipur. He was hit by a stone and died on the spot. The police team was asked to control a mob allegedly from the Nishad party, who were holding protests demanding reservation in government jobs and education for their community.

The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested 11 people and detained several others in connection with the constable’s killing. An FIR has also been registered against 32 people in the case. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a compensation of Rs 40 lakh for the kin of the deceased policeman. However, the cop’s son expressed his anguish and asked what they would do with the compensation now.

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“Police is not being able to protect their own. What can we expect from them? What will we do with compensation now? Earlier, similar incidents took place in Bulandshahr and Pratapgarh,” ANI quoted the constable’s son as saying.

Another policeman who witnessed the incident and was a colleague of Vats said that the agitators began throwing bricks and stones at them when they tried to calm them and Suresh (Vats) died before he could be taken to the hospital.

“We tried placating the agitators, but they just wouldn’t listen. Instead, they began throwing bricks and stones at us. About three of us were injured, and Suresh died before he could be taken to a hospital,” he said.

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This was the second such incident in Uttar Pradesh in less than a month when a policeman was killed in mob violence. Earlier on December 3, Bulandshahr constable Subodh Kumar Singh was fatally shot at a point-blank range above his left eye during mob violence following the recovery of cow carcasses in the area. The similar questions of the state police failing its own personnel were raised then as well after it was found out the Singh was left alone by his colleagues when they came under the mob attack.