SHO killing: Cop say announcement to attack police party made from local mosque
The police on Monday arrested the main accused in the case of lynching of a Kishanganj police inspector in a West Bengal village and claimed a the public address system in a mosque was used to incite the mob to attack the police team which was in the village pursuing a motorcycle theft case
The police on Monday arrested the main accused in the case of lynching of a Kishanganj police inspector in a West Bengal village and claimed a the public address system in a mosque was used to incite the mob to attack the police team which was in the village pursuing a motorcycle theft case.
“The announcement was made from a local mosque at the village to attack the police team. Both the main accused, Firoz Alam and Md Israel, were in the mosque at the time and had asked the Maulvi to make an announcement through mike installed in the mosque. Soon after the announcement, about 500 people attacked the police team in which the police inspector died,” said Javed Ansari, Kishanganj’s subdivisional police officer (SDPO).
Early Saturday morning, Ashwani Kumar (50), posted as the station house officer (SHO) at Kishanganj police station, was beaten to death in Pantapara village of West Bengal, located near the border of the two states, where he was leading a police team for raids to recover the motorcycle stolen from Kishanganj.
The same day, eight policemen, who were accompanying Kumar during the raid but allegedly fled when the mob attacked them, were suspended for dereliction of duty.
On Sunday, when Kumar’s body arrived at his home in Purnia, his mother also died, reportedly of shock. Both were cremated in the evening.
So far, eight accused, including prime accused Md Israel, have been arrested in connection with the lynching incident. The stolen bike was also recovered from the house of Firoz Alam, also an accused.
Meanwhile, Nancy, daughter of the slain SHO, has demanded a CBI probe into the incident, blaming the eight policemen for the incident.