With one of the victim who was killed in firing in Santkabirnagar on Sunday has been identified as a native of Etawah, heavy security forces continued to keep a watch to ensure no further violence by the Nishad community. About three dozen persons involved in the violence were also arrested in three separate cases registered on Sunday night.
ADG (law and order), Daljeet Chowdhary, who confirmed of no further untoward incident on Monday, claimed that stern action would be taken against the trouble makers and those who had led or incited the violence would be booked under the National Security Act (NSA). He said that the police officials along with jawans of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were manning the area and no one would be allowed to create problem for the public.
Superintendent of Police in Santkabirnagar, claimed that one of the victim who died during the violence on Sunday has been identified as 22-year-old Alhilesh Kumar Nishad, hailing from Bakewar locality of Etawah. The officer said that primarily investigation revealed that Akhilesh had come to join the agitation by the members of his community to demand reservation and was killed when he was engaged in violence. Meanwhile the Congress flayed the incident and demanded a judicial probe into the matter along with compensation to the family members of the youth who died in police firing. A delegation of the Party also visited the trouble prone areas to take first hand account of the Sunday’sincident.
It may be mentioned that boosted by the success of the Gujjar community, who got reservation after taking the entire Rajasthan to ransom by blocking rail and road traffic movements, the members of the Nishad community here in Eastern UP, who had collected for a two-day meeting to discuss the strategy suddenly blocked lucknow-Gorakhpur rail route. They also fought a pitched battle with police in which one worker was killed and scores of government vehicles were set afire. The workers of Rashtriya Nishad Ekta Parishad pelted stones at police in which several officials including SDM and SP were injured.
The members of Nishad community squatted on the rail track near Sahjanwah railway station disrupting the lucknow-Gorakhpur rail route while demanding reservation under the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota. “For the last 65 years we are demanding reservation for Nishad community. It is one of the most neglected communities of the country. We do not have IAS or IPS. A few doctors and engineers are there but they too have been shunted out. We are left with no option but to stage protest for our genuine demands,” Dr Sanjay Nishad, president of the Rashtriya Nishad Ekta Parishad claimed on Sunday.
He said that over a thousand members of the Nishad community were staging peaceful protest when all of a sudden police opened fire. “The police mercilessly beat up members of the Nishad community in which one member died,” Sanjay Nishad said. “This is the dictatorial attitude of the state government which we will not tolerate. We will intensify our agitation and take the fight to the door steps of the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav,” he said.