Allahabad, Feb 12: A 24-year-old law student died in hospital on Sunday after he was allegedly attacked with bricks and iron rods by a group of men at a restaurant in Allahabad the previous night, police said.
The murder of Dilip Saroj, a student at Allahabad Degree College, triggered social media outrage after videos of the assault shot by people at the eatery was widely shared on WhatsApp and Facebook.
Senior superintendent of police Akash Kulhary said one of the three suspects was arrested on the basis of a video and three policemen, including the Katra police outpost in-charge, were suspended for negligence after the murder.
“Munna Singh Chauhan, a waiter seen attacking Saroj on his head with a rod in a video, has been arrested. Restaurant owner Amit Upadhyay has been detained too. Three more accused, including a railway ticket checker named Vijay Shankar of Sultanpur, are at large,” he said.
The student and two of his friends had gone to the eatery on Saturday night and were waiting at the stairs after placing their order when they allegedly had an argument with Shankar, who was having dinner with two friends.
The officer said Saroj and his friends attacked the trio with chairs after the altercation. “During the clash, the students also hit waiter Munna, who retaliated by hitting Saroj on his head with a rod. Amit and his staff dragged Saroj out of the restaurant and other two students fled. Shankar and his aides then attacked Saroj with rods and bricks,” Kulhary said.
The restaurant owner took Saroj to a private hospital, where he died on Sunday morning.
Colonelganj police station inspector Awadhesh Singh said people made video clips of the assault, which helped the police identify the assailants. The body was sent for an autopsy and an investigation launched, he said.
The student was from a Dalit family in the Hathigawa area of Pratapgarh. His brother Mahesh Chandra Saroj filed an FIR at Colonelganj police station.
Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav called the murder an indicator that law and order had worsened in Uttar Pradesh. The ruling BJP often accuses the previous government led by Yadav of doing little to prevent crimes in the state.
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