A farmer was killed and three others received bullet injuries when police opened fire on a mob on Tuesday morning.The crowd went on the rampage after a local youth died in an accident, which was reportedly a result of extortion by the local police from vehicles. The agitated crowd torched dozens of vehicles near Shergarh area and set ablaze a local police outpost.
The situation could only be brought under control after IG of Agra Zone Ashutosh Pandey reached the spot along with heavy police force and tried to cool down the anger by announcing stern action against the local policemen.
Pandey registered a murder case against Shergarh Police Station SHO SP Singh, a Senior Sub-Inspector and five other policemen, along with four members of the public. He also placed the personnel under suspension and announced initiation of departmental proceedings against them. Pandey promised to terminate their services if found guilty.
According to reports, some policemen were extorting money from vehicles at Shergarh-Agra highway. The matter took an ugly turn when they detained a tractor driven by a local youth, Jitendra, who was carrying his crops to the market.
As the youth stepped down, the policemen tried to stop another truck but the driver accelerated to get away and crushed Jitendra in the process. News spread like wildfire and local farmers gathered at the spot. The situation worsened when the police opened fire at the farmers to disperse them, which led to killing of one more farmer, while three others were critically injured.
The agitated crowd also blocked the highway. No one has been arrested so far.