Deoria Killings: UP Govt Should Apply Zero Tolerance Policy to Both Families, Says SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav

A fortnight after the gruesome ‘Deoria carnage’, in which six people were killed in a land dispute between two families on October 2, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday visited the district in Uttar Pradesh and assured all possible help to the aggrieved members of both the families.

The SP chief also slammed the Yogi government, blaming it for one-sided action and said that “if there is ‘zero tolerance policy’ against crime in UP, then it should be applied to both the families”.

On October 2, district panchayat member Prem Chandra Yadav was beaten to death over a land dispute and later Satya Prakash Dubey, from a rival group, was lynched, along with his wife, two daughters, and a son, by Yadav’s supporters, said police.

“The Deoria incident was painful for all of us. UP hasn’t witnessed such an incident before where six people were killed. I want to ask the UP government why justice is not being done with both the families, why the Dubey family is getting special treatment, whereas the rival Yadav family is getting step-motherly treatment. If there is any zero tolerance policy against crime in UP, it should be applicable to both Dubeys and Yadavs,” said the SP leader.

After the incident, the police made more than 20 arrests and the district administration pasted a notice on Yadav’s house, stating that a portion of the structure was illegal as it was on agricultural land, and hence it would be demolished. Also, a fine of Rs 32,000 was imposed on Yadav for encroaching on government land.

The SP chief said that he met both the families and shared their pain. “Prem Yadav’s only fault was that he was ‘Yadav’. Some of the Dubey family members refused to meet me. I know that it is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders who have brainwashed them. I am there to help them and I will help them. I will bear all the expenses of their studies and will assist them in all possible ways,” said the SP leader.

He also slammed the UP government for sticking a demolition notice on the house of Prem Yadav, considering it an encroachment on government’s land. “Bulldozer is not the solution to the problem, neither is it a way to bring justice to the people,” he added.

On October 10, the locals, along with SP activists, registered a strong protest against administrative officials who reached Yadav’s house to proceed with a demolition order. The residents had accused the Uttar Pradesh government of playing “caste politics” and indulging in one-sided action.

He also asked why the UP government took action against the subordinates and why not against the District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP), who are equally responsible for the carnage.