Hardoi hate crime: More contradictions surface between victim’s dying declaration and statement of accused

Although the police have arrested all the five people accused in the brutal murder of a Dalit youth in Hardoi on September 14, contradictions keep surfacing in the

Although the police have arrested all the five people accused in the brutal murder of a Dalit youth in Hardoi on September 14, contradictions keep surfacing in the case. The latest is regarding the time of the crime, said police. While the victim’s dying declaration mentioned that the incident occurred around 8pm, the accused and an eyewitness have said that the crime was committed at around 11pm.

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A police officer involved in the investigation said, requesting anonymity, “There are some contradictions, including the time of the incident. The statements of all the accused, an eyewitness (Nandram, neighbour of accused Radhey Gupta) and other evidences suggest that the incident occurred at around 11 pm. However, the victim said it happened around 8 pm.”

Earlier, other major contradictions had come up. According to accused Radhey Gupta and his wife Daali, the victim -- Abhishank Pal -- came to their house to meet their niece Shivani after her text message to him. They said they saw the two together and killed Pal in a fit of rage. However, in his dying declaration, Pal said that he had a scuffle with accused Satyam Singh and Shikhar Singh who forcibly took him to the Gupta house where they attacked him.

Pal was beaten up, tied to a cot and burnt to death on the night of September 14.

While police and villagers say the victim and Shivani were in a relationship, Pal’s family have denied any knowledge of this.

Meanwhile, the police have recorded the statements of the accused, but not of the victim’s family members.

Accused Radhey, Daali and Shivani were arrested soon after the crime, while Satyam and Shikhar, who were absconding, were arrested on Monday.