Retired cop, hit 49 times in 90 seconds in Allahabad, dies; court steps in

A retired policeman was mercilessly beaten with sticks by three men on a street in Allahabad’s Teliyarganj locality on Monday. The brutal attack, caught on a CCTV camera, shows the retired police sub-inspector being attacked 49 times in 90 seconds. It also shows how some passers by didn’t intervene.

By the time Abdul Samad Khan was taken to the hospital by his family, it was too late. He died.

Khan did try to resist the attack, initially. But the 70-year-old was clearly no match for the goons.

The retired sub-inspector was on his bicycle when a man in a red shirt comes and starts attacking him with a stick in a narrow lane.

Khan falls to the ground and tries to shield himself but the assault continues. In the CCTV video clip, several people on foot, cycles and on two-wheelers are seen passing by, slowing down and leaving after taking a look.

Shortly afterwards, two more men are seen joining in the attack and soon Khan even stops resisting and takes the blows.

The footage shows the men assaulting the retired policeman left sitting against the wall, critically wounded, as the men escape. Khan was later taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

A case has been registered on a complaint of Khan’s daughter who has implicated 10 people in the case, Brijesh Srivastava, the Allahabad city police chief said.

Five people have also been arrested, mostly members of the prime suspect Junaid Kamal, who has several cases registered against him.

“Both sides are related to each other and locked in a property dispute. The history-sheeter Junaid Kamal and his brother Javed, named in the FIR, are among those on the run. Teams of Crime Branch and Shivkuti police are carrying out raids to nab all accused,” Srivastava added.

But two judges of the Allahabad High Court who took note of reports of the retired police officer being thrashed to death weren’t impressed. Chief justice DB Bhosale and justice CD Singh, took the Uttar Pradesh government to task for the inability of the police to arrest the prime suspects. The judges asked why the police had not been able to arrest them despite CCTV footage of the incident. The police has been ordered to submit a report on Wednesday outlining the on the steps taken to arrest them by Wednesday.

First Published: Sep 04, 2018 14:01 IST