1 dead as cops open fire to disperse mob in UP

One person was allegedly killed and several injured on Sunday when the police opened fire in the air and resorted to lathicharge to disperse thousands who had collected in a school field in Khera village in Sardhana in Meerut to attend the banned all-caste panchayat in protest the National Security Act invoked against local MLA Sangeet Som. Agitated people pelted stones at the police and senior officials had to take refuge in the school building to save themselves. ADG (law and order) Mukul Goel, however, downplayed the incident and said that the situation in Sardhana was fully under control and the people had started returning to their homes. He denied any death in the incident and said he did not have the exact number of the people injured in the incidents. However, reports form Meerut said that one person had received a bullet injury and later succumbed to the same. “We did have intelligence inputs that some people may try to violate the prohibitory orders but the ones who came there were all local people,” he said. The ADG also denied that the district administration had sought army’s help to control the situation. “There is normalcy in the area and there is no need to call in the army,” he said. The official remained evasive when asked why the people were allowed to reach the Khera village when the panchayat had been banned and prohibitory orders had been imposed. Divisional commissioner Manjit Singh said that one person was injured and about 50-60 people have been arrested. According to reports from Meerut, several thousands of people had started collecting in Khera village since early morning and it was only after the crowds swelled appreciably that the police tried to send them back. The irate mob pelted stones at the policemen and security personnel finally had to fire in the air to disperse the mob. What made the task of the police difficult was the fact that, this time, the women and girls carrying lathis and swords led from the front. The police apparently did not have adequate women force to tackle the situation. The mob broke the barricades and attacked and burnt police and government vehicles parked in the village.