‘Yogi Adityanath’s jungle raj’: Congress after mob kills cop in UP’s Ghazipur

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over the death of a police constable during stone-pelting by a mob, alleging that in Yogi Adityanath’s “jungle rule” neither the people are safe, nor the police.

Police constable Suresh Vats, 48, was killed Saturday in Ghazipur when protesters hurled stones at vehicles returning from the venue of a public meeting addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reacting to the incident, Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala claimed, “In Adityanath’s grand jungle rule, neither the people were safe, nor the police.” “Today in Ghazipur after Modi ji’s rally, a mob mercilessly killed police constable Suresh Vats,” he tweeted. Before this, a mob had killed police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Bulandshahr which the chief minister had described as an accident, he said. “Democracy in BJP rule=mobocracy,” he tweeted.

Vats from Karimuddinpur police station was hit on the head by a stone when he went to end a traffic jam caused by the protesters.

Superintendent of police (Ghazipur) Yashveer Singh said the protesters were workers from the Rashtriya Nishad Party who were prevented by the administration and the police from going to the rally venue.

When the Prime Minister had left Ghazipur, the party workers blocked traffic at various places and started pelting stones on the vehicles returning from the programme venue,” he said.

Vats was immediately taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

At least 15 party workers were detained in connection with the incident. The police are trying to identify other protesters through the video footage of the incident.

The constable was from Raniganj in Pratapgarh district. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation of Rs 40 lakh for the wife of the dead constable and Rs 10 lakh for his parents.

He also directed the district magistrate and the SP to take action against unruly elements.