AGRA: Two senior policemen and six protesters were killed and over 40 people were injured in clashes during an official drive to evict ‘illegal’ occupants from a plot in Mathura district on Thursday.
Inspector general (law and order) HR Sharma said superintendent of police ( city), Mukul Dwivedi, and station house office of Farah police station, Santosh Kumar, were killed in the alleged firing by encroachers.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav ordered a probe into the incident and appointed the Ag ra commissioner as the inquiry officer.
Clashes broke out when the police tried to evict ‘illegal’ occupants in Jawahar Bagh on the directives of the Allahabad high court.
The occupants are believed to members of a religious g roup, Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi.
Sharma claimed around 3,000 people pelted stones and opened fire at the police when they reached the spot.
He added that the police initially lobbed tear gas shells at the agitators but were forced to open fire later.
Chief medical officer of the district, Vivek Mishra, said at least four dozen people, including two dozen police personnel, were injured in the clashes.
{{/usCountry}}Chief medical officer of the district, Vivek Mishra, said at least four dozen people, including two dozen police personnel, were injured in the clashes.
{{/usCountry}}Spread across 280 acres on government land, Jawahar Bagh had been occupied by the ‘encroachers’ — who had reportedly claimed to be the followers of late freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose — for the past two years.
When the police tried to evict them on Thursday evening, they offered stiff resistance and fired at the police after burning their tents. Some of the ‘encroachers’ were later arrested.
Sources said Ram Vraksh Yadav, the leader of the protesters, was reportedly injured and arrested.
Police personnel from Agra and Firozabad were roped in to maintain law and order in the district.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Mathura administration had reportedly issued them notices to vacate the place but they allegedly did not pay heed.
The local administration had disconnected the power and electricity supply a few days ago to exert pressure on the protesters.