Protests erupt after Dalit youth held on harassment complaint dies in police custody in UP
Azamgarh (PTI): The death of a 20-year-old Dalit youth under suspicious circumstances while in custody at Tarwa police station here triggered tense protests led by his family and local residents on Monday.
The agitators vandalised a police vehicle and blocked the road in front of the station, prompting authorities to call for heavy police deployment to control the situation.
The youth, identified as Sunny Kumar, son of Harikant, was taken into custody on Sunday over a sexual harassment complaint filed by a minor. A guard found him hanging on the drawstring of his pyjama in the station's bathroom late that night.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police Hemraj Meena, preliminary investigations suggested that the youth committed suicide.
However, Kumar's family as well as Samajwadi Party's Azamgarh MP Dharmendra Yadav alleged that the youth was beaten to death.
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Following the incident, authorities have placed several police stations on high alert.
The Tarwa station house officer, a sub-inspector and a constable have been suspended, and District Magistrate Navneet Singh Chahal has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.
According to police, a minor girl's family had complained against Kumar on March 28, accusing him of making obscene gestures and playing vulgar songs on his mobile phone when she was passing by.
Acting on the complaint, police took Kumar into custody on Sunday.
Late that night, a guard saw his lifeless body through the bathroom window.
As the news spread, Kumar's family and a group of villagers gathered at the station, alleging custodial murder.
The post-mortem was conducted amid tight security. SSP Meena said no injury marks was found on the body, but all aspects of the case is being thoroughly investigated.
Officials said the situation was tense but under control.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
