Mayawati sacks minister over cop's murder

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday sacked a minister from her cabinet just hours after his name surfaced in an incident of vandalism in which a constable was killed.

Jamuna Nishad, who was the minister of state (independent charge) for fisheries, and his supporters were accused of indulging in violence in Maharajganj on Saturday night.

Mayawati, who also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, said she summoned the minister to her residence. Confirming that she asked Nishad to quit, the chief minister said the minister told her that neither he nor his supporters were involved in the violence although he had accompanied a group of people to the Maharajganj police station to protest against mishandling of a rape case.

But an FIR lodged at the police station named the minister and his 50 to 60 supporters in the violence, Mayawati said. She said the police version was that the minister's supporters beat up police personnel and a constable was killed when someone opened fire.

It is not clear how the constable was shot. The police said a beacon-fitted VIP car stopped by and someone inside fired at them. But eyewitnesses claimed someone snatched a service weapon during the scuffle and opened fire.