In Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, Gulzar and Salman mowed down two cousin sisters with a loader van after they protested against molestation. The incident took place in front of Bhatgawan Panchayat Bhawan in Chaurichaura area of Gorakhpur on Sunday (5th January). The incident unfolded when the two girls were going for their exams. While one girl died on the spot, the other sustained injuries. The locals tried to catch the driver of the van, however, he managed to escape.
Investigation revealed that the accused, both residents of Kaithwalia village, had attacked the girls by crushing them with a Magic van when they protested against molestation. Angry villagers of Gorakhpur blocked the Gorakhpur-Kushinagar highway for two hours on Monday (6th January) afternoon by placing the body of the girl who died. During this, the villagers, along with the family members, demanded that the accused be encountered and bulldozers be run on their houses.
On receiving the information about the blockade, SDM Finance and Revenue Vineet Singh, Magistrate Aarti Sahu, SDM Chaurichaura, SP North, two COs, the police force of six police stations and a PAC vehicle were called. During the conversation, the family demanded that the accused should be punished in the same way as the girl was killed adding that the accused should be “encountered”. In addition, the victim’s family should be given financial aid.
The officials cleared the blockade after persuading the family. The girl’s father cremated the body at Madapar Ghat at around 6 pm. More than 100 villagers were present during this time. According to the complaint, a BA third-year student from a village in the Chaurichaura area was going to take her exam at a college in Jagdishpur with her cousin on Sunday at 10:40 am.
The police registered a case on the complaint lodged by the victim’s uncle and arrested accused Gulzar Ali alias Rehman Ali. By Monday evening, the police arrested the second accused Salman. The police said that the arrested duo are being questioned.
According to the post-mortem report of the deceased student’s body, the head was fractured due to the car running over her and the ribs were broken causing her death. There were scratch marks on the leg as well.
On Monday, Sarvan Kumar Nishad, the BJP MLA from Chaurichaura met the family of the victims to offer his condolences and give assurance that appropriate action will be taken in the matter. The MLA assured that the victims will be given justice and necessary financial aid. In addition, bulldozer action will also be taken against the accused if required along with action against negligent police officials.
The victim who survived the attack by Gulzar and Salman said that the accused duo had been harassing her for the last one week. The duo used to follow her sometimes in a car or on a bike. She said that Salman and Gulzar used to repeatedly give their phone numbers to the victim and pressurise her to talk to them.
On Sunday the two girls left home to take their exam. About half a kilometre away from the house, both the accused passed by a Magic van. When the girls passed by there, the accused Muslim youths tried to talk to them, and after protesting, they walked ahead. The accused duo then parked their vehicle ahead and started waiting. As soon as the girls passed by there, Salman and Gulzar drove the vehicle over them from behind.
The family members of the student also say that after the incident, the family members of the accused are threatening them. Meanwhile, the incident has infuriated the villagers who demand that the accused Salman and Gulzar be hanged to death.
A CCTV footage of the incident that occurred on Sunday has also been recovered. It shows that the Magic van is coming forward and stopping. The students were moving ahead when the accused suddenly moved the van forward and went ahead at a high speed, crushing the students. It is also seen in the CCTV footage that Gulzar is stopping the vehicle on the road. As soon as the girls came close, Salman took over the wheel from Gulzar. Reports say that Salman is the one who crushed the girls with the vehicle.
