E-Paper
Cops suspended for Ghaziabad violence
Nine policemen, including a Superintendent of Police (SP), a Circle Officer (CO) and a Station Officer (SO), have been suspended for failing to curb Monday night violence on NH-24 near Ghaziabad.
Nine policemen, including a Superintendent of Police (SP), a Circle Officer (CO) and a Station Officer (SO), have been suspended for failing to curb Monday night violence on NH-24 near Ghaziabad.
An angry mob had set the Simbhavli police station on fire and damaged public property and vehicles after a villager was shot dead by the police.
SP K.K. Asthana, CO (Garh) Rajpal Singh, SO Simbhavli K.P.S. Chahal, Sub-Inspector Abhay Ram were suspended for dereliction of duty. One head constable and four other constables were among the suspended.
Additonal Director General (Law and Order) A.K. Jain said, “They (the officers) were in a position to prevent the violence but did not act promptly. Not acting in timely manner has resulted in their suspension.”
Large-scale violence erupted on Monday night after Head Constable Sudhir Kumar allegedly shot dead Mohammed Parvez (27) in the afternoon.
“He accidentally shot the victim with a service revolver which was not issued to him,” said a police source.
As per the source, SP K.K. Asthana was suspended, as he didn’t issue orders to prevent the mob from proceeding towards the police station and retreated.
“He was accompanied by 30-40 policemen but could not save the police station from the unruly mob,” the source added.
The post-mortem examination of the victim was hurriedly conducted late on Monday and his body was cremated this morning to prevent any escalation of violence, the police said.
Police said the angry villagers, more than 1,000 in number, pelted stones at the police station before setting it on fire.
Three companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), a company of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and a huge force from the neighbouring districts have been deployed in the area.
“The situation is under control now. FIRs against the unruly mob and the police patrol members would be lodged after consultation with senior officials,” said a police spokesperson.
Traffic on National Highway was also disrupted for hours Monday night.
