VP Singh, son of constable Suresh Vats who died in Ghazipur in a stone pelting incident on Saturday, 29 December, held a "dysfunctional" police force responsible for his father's death.
“The police force is not able to protect its own... what can we expect from them? What will we do with the compensation now? Earlier, similar incidents had taken place in Bulandshahr and Pratapgarh as well,” Singh said.
Vats was killed and two civilians were injured after violent clashes broke out in Ghazipur on Saturday after a protest rally, organised by Nishad Party, saw people allegedly pelt stones at them near Naunera area.
Vats had been deployed as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally security detail in Ghazipur and was returning home when the incident took place.
Expressing anger against the country's pompous "VIP culture", Singh told ANI: "A video of the incident was posted on YouTube. One can see when the rally ended, the clashes broke out and near the incident spot several VIPs sitting in their cars were passing. Not even a single dignitary who was passing by stopped the car and tried to resolve the issue. Everybody was concerned about saving their own lives."
He further said that by merely giving compensation or providing a government job to the kin of the deceased is not going to curb the problems of crime and violence.
19 people have been arrested in connection with Vats’ death so far, Uttar Pradesh Police said.
The police has also registered an FIR against 32 people following the incident, ANI reported.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a compensation of Rs 40 lakh for the deceased constable’s wife and that of Rs 10 lakh for his parents, the state government said.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)