In yet another case of alleged police excesses, about four-five dozen police personnel struck in the Muslim colony of Patella village in Kuthan locality of Jaunpur early on Wednesday morning. The cops have been accused of breaking into five houses and vandalising them. They also took away jewelry worth Rs 30 lakh, besides damaging a BMW car, an SUV, along with eight bikes, and the tricycle of a disabled person. The police, however, termed the allegations as false and claimed to have visited the area in response to a complaint of cow slaughtering.
District panchayat member Akila, a resident of the village, alleged that in the wee hours of Wednesday, about 50-60 police personnel stormed half a dozen houses in the locality. He alleged that they entered the house by breaking the door and window. Besides, some cops climbed a tree in front of the house to jump into his house through the terrace. He claimed that the men in Khaki first broke the CCTV camera and DVR installed in his house. He said that without citing any reason, they started breaking household items and abusing them for indulging in illegal activities.
“They also entered into the houses of Shahabuddin, the state vice president of Olema Council, Shah Mohammad, Kamaluddin and Amjad, vandalising their expensive belongings, cars, bikes and other household items. They also destroyed the tricycle of Shahnawaz, a disabled,” he said.
Reports said that there was huge anger among the residents of the village regarding the incident.
Former Member of Parliament Dhananjay Singh also reached the victims’ house on Wednesday afternoon and heard their plight. He assured the victims that a high-level investigation would be conducted into the matter. “Legal action would definitely be taken against the guilty police personnel. Prima facie, the anarchy of the police personnel is clearly visible in the incident,” he said. He also appealed to the villagers to maintain peace and cooperate in the legal process.
Incharge of the local police station, Arvind Kumar Singh said that the allegations made by Akila and others were completely baseless. He claimed that the goods and other belongings were damaged in clashes between two groups in the locality and not by the police, which reached just to defuse the tension. A high-level investigation will be conducted into the incident he claimed.
Meanwhile, Superintendent of Police, Jaunpur, Ajay Pal Sharma said that police were running a campaign to stop cow slaughtering and went to the village just for verification. There was no question of sabotage and that so far no complaint came before him regarding the above allegations.
