UP cop's gruesome murder case echoes in assembly

Leaders across the party demand stern action in the case

The gruesome murder case of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Zia ul Haque on March 2 in Pratapgarh district echoed in the state assembly with leaders across party line demanding stern action in the case.

Independent legislator from Kunda – where the incident took place, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya is one of the accused in the case.

To pre-empt the opposition's attack, Raja Bhaiyya, who was the food and civil supplies minister, had tendered his resignation from the cabinet to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Two named accused had already been arrested.

Leader of the opposition and senior BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya said the incident exemplified poor law and order situation in the state, where even the people’s representative and policemen were not secure.

BJP leader Hukum Singh accused the district administration of turning a blind eye towards a simmering land dispute in the area for over 15-20 days, which finally snowballed into such major incident and three killings.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari alleged that the nature of the bullet wound showed that the cop was killed by professional shooter and the case must be thoroughly investigated to bring out the truth.

While, UP parliamentary affairs minister Azam Khan expressed regret on the incident, the chief minister assured the house that guilty would be spared and the probe would be non-partisan.

Haque was allegedly killed by an irate mob in Balipur hamlet following the murder of village pradhan Nanhe Lal Yadav and his brother Suresh. Haque, who was Kunda Circle Officer (CO) had visited the troubled spot with police force.

However, when the situation turned ugly, the cops accompanying him fled the scene leaving the CO to face the mob fury. His body reportedly bears multiple bullet wounds besides grievous injuries by heavy objects.

Later, Haque’s wife Parveen Azad filed another FIR in the case accusing Raja Bhaiyya of conspiracy to kill her husband. She also named his close aides in the case and demanded a CBI probe.

Raja Bhaiyya has also demanded a CBI inquiry alleging a political conspiracy to defame him and strip him of his cabinet berth. He claimed that vested interests were giving a political twist to the “unfortunate” incident, wherein a brave police officer and two poor villagers had lost their lives.