The victims were identified as Sunil Kumar (35), his wife Poonam (32), their six-year-old daughter Drishti, and their one-year-old daughter. Sunil, originally from Rae Bareli, was employed at a government school in Panhauna, Amethi.

उत्तर प्रदेश: जिला अमेठी में बदमाशों ने घर में घुसकर पूरे परिवार को मार डाला। टीचर सुनील कुमार, पत्नी और दोनों बच्चों की गोली मारकर हत्या। पुलिस अफसर मौके पर हैं। pic.twitter.com/aI8QDZtis0

— Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) October 3, 2024

#Horrific Four members of a Dalit family were shot dead inside their home. This is a heinous murder. Two small innocent children were also killed. The terrible incident happened in UP’s Amethi, The mainstream Manu media will not tell you. pic.twitter.com/XhJ9KzEXsv

— The Dalit Voice (@ambedkariteIND) October 4, 2024

The main point to note is that the Dalit family had previously approached the police, providing that the family is facing harassment. According to police reports, initial investigation had revealed that Poonam filed the FIR against Chandan Verma in Rae Bareli on August 18, citing harassment and invoking the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. In her complaint, she warned that if anything were to happen to her family, Verma should be held accountable.

Responding to the brutal crime and the news of the previous FIR, Superintendent of Police Anoop Kumar Singh has stated that the connection between the murders and the previous case has not yet been established. Following the incident, officials from both the police and education departments arrived at the scene, with District Magistrate Nisha Anant and SP Anoop Singh already present. Senior officials from Lucknow were also dispatched to assist in the investigation, which is taking place approximately 60 kilometres from the district headquarters.

Neighbours reported hearing loud gunshots and rushed to the family’s home, only to find them dead in the backyard. The police have assembled teams to investigate, including the Local Intelligence Unit and Special Operations Groups. As part of their efforts, they are reviewing CCTV footage from nearby cameras to identify the assailants. Inspector General of Police Praveen Kumar indicated that preliminary forensic investigations suggest there was no forced entry, implying the assailants were likely known to the victims.

#amethipolice थानाक्षेत्र शिवरतनगंज अन्तर्गत अहोरवा भवानी में पति पत्नी व 02 बच्चों की अज्ञात व्यक्ति द्वारा गोली मारकर हत्या करने की घटना के अनावरण हेतु पुलिस टीमों का गठन कर जा रही वैधानिक कार्यवाही के संबन्ध में #SP_अमेठी द्वारा दी गई बाइट।@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/CPbBJsOWi7

— AMETHI POLICE (@amethipolice) October 3, 2024

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed his sorrow over the incident, describing it as “highly condemnable and unforgivable.” He extended his condolences to the bereaved families, asserting that the Uttar Pradesh government stands with them and promising strict legal action against the perpetrators.

Former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav responded to the tragedy with a cryptic post questioning the law-and-order situation in the state, asking, “Koi Hai? Kahin hai? (Is anyone there? Is someone anywhere?)” Congress MP Kishori Lal Sharma criticised the government, stating that the “savage criminals” who murdered the family should face the harshest punishment. He condemned the incident, calling it a reflection of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, where criminals appear to operate without fear.

कोई है?
कहीं है??#नहीं_चाहिए_भाजपा pic.twitter.com/tYBizVDoeZ

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 3, 2024

Overall, this shocking mass murder has raised significant concerns about safety of Dalits and the marginalised communities in Uttar Pradesh, with opposition parties demanding urgent action against the assailants and highlighting the failures of the current government to protect its citizens. The Samajwadi Party remarked, “In UP, families are not safe even inside their homes. Jungle Raj is at its peak!”

यूपी में घर के अंदर भी परिवार सुरक्षित नहीं, जंगलराज चरम पर !

अमेठी में बदमाशों द्वारा शिक्षक दंपति और उनके बच्चों की घर में घुसकर हत्या, अत्यंत शर्मनाक घटना।

भाजपा सरकार में कानून व्यवस्था पूरी तरह ध्वस्त, अपराधियों के हौसले बुलंद।

आरोपियों को जल्द गिरफ्तार करे पुलिस, हो सख्त… pic.twitter.com/73cgBUW6Tm

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) October 3, 2024

Recently only, a union government report published by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had revealed that the state of Uttar Pradesh reported a staggering 12,287 cases accounting for 23.78% of the total 51,656 cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, (PoA Act) in the year 2022.  (Detailed report may be read here)

Related:

BJP-ruled states account for highest Dalit violence cases, UP on top, MP records highest reported crimes against STs

Violence against Dalits exposed: brutal police torture and arson attack shake BJP-ruled states

Cruelty for Caste: Dalit youth, Scholar, Student targeted in shameful attacks

Escalating anti-Dalit violence in India: A disturbing surge of brutality and discrimination since July 2024

The post Tragic shooting in Amethi, UP: Dalit teacher and family murdered, investigation reveals family had filed FIR two months ago after facing threats appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Sabrang India’s sources have also shared a video from the ground, where the local Muslims have shown the injuries they got from the police. They can be seen saying that the police indiscriminately started beating up people for no reason. The locals have also said that people from the Muslim community were especially beaten.

On May 20, 49 constituencies went to vote across the country in the fifth phase of the country’s Lok Sabha elections. As per a report by Business Insider, Uttar Pradesh saw the second highest count in voting till 9 am today at 12 %, followed by Jharkhand and Ladakh at 11 % and 10% each.

Sabrang India has earlier looked at how several states have seen election related violations and harassment by the BJP in this voting phase alone.  Telangana for instance witnessed BJP candidate Madhavi Latha demand Muslim women voters at polling booths to uncover their faces and show their identity cards as well. Similarly, there was police violence outside a polling booth in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal and many Muslim said that they were unable to file their vote. Local resident Muslims also stated that the police beat them violently and even snatched their documents they had brought with them to vote. These reports come at a time when Muslims representatives contesting in the elections have also decreased. In 2019’s elections, various parties, except for the BJP, had given 115 Muslim candidates, however, in 2024 only 78 such candidates have been put forth.

Related:

Accused of not voting for “free ration”, Dalit man beaten brutally in UP

Reports of poll guidelines breached as India completes fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections

Reports of bogus voting from Maharashtra’s Beed and Pune

Series of poll violations by ruling BJP. Inaction by ECI says Independent Panel

Delhi candidate Kanhaiya Kumar attacked during campaign 

The post Amethi: Locals claim police beat up Muslims at polling booths appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Amethi:
Amethi has so far been considered the safest seat for the Congress. It has been represented by Sanjay Gandhi (1980), Rajiv Gandhi (1981-1991), Sonia Gandhi (1999-2004) and since then by Rahul Gandhi. This time incumbent Rahul Gandhi faces his former adversary actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani again. Last time Gandhi had defeated Irani by a margin of over 1 lakh votes, but his vote share had dropped from over 70 percent in 2009 to just over 46 percent in 2014.

Amethi is a prestige seat and the Nehru-Gandhi family cannot afford to lose it. Interestingly, the SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan has not fielded any candidate from this constituency. While 7.31 per cent of the population identifies as Muslim, 18.9 per cent belong to scheduled castes according to 2011 census data.

Rae Bareli:
Another Congress bastion, this is Sonia Gandhi’s constituency. She has held it since 2004. Before her two other members of her family namely, Firoz Gandhi and Indira Gandhi have won from this constituency. Though Sonia Gandhi secured well over 5 lakh votes in the previous election from across religious and caste lines, it is noteworthy that the Congress has been losing assembly polls here since 2007.

While 12.3 per cent of the population identifies as Muslim, over 30 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes. The constituency has over 2 lakh voters from the Vaish community that had overwhelmingly voted for BJP’s previous candidate Ajay Agarwal in 2014. Agarwal had managed to secure the maximum number of votes ever by an opponent of Sonia Gandhi, totalling over 1.73 lakhs, from this constituency. But the BJP dropped him in favour of Dinesh Pratap Singh. Meanwhile, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohiya) has fielded Ram Singh Yadav.

Lucknow:
The constituency is associated with deceased BJP heavyweight Atal Bihari Vajpayee who won the seat five times consecutively since 1991. Even after Vajpayee stepped out of active politics, the seat has remained with the BJP with Lalji Tandon winning in 2009 and Rajnath Singh getting elected in 2014.
This time though, it will be an interesting triangular contest with Singh going up against the INC’s Pramod Krishnam and Samajwadi Party’s Poonam Sinha. Lucknow is also interesting as it is a very demographically diverse constituency. According to census data, over 21 per cent of people are Muslim and over 20 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes.

Faizabad:
This is another important parliamentary constituency as it is home to Ayodhya, the temple town where the Babri Mosque was razed to the ground in 1992. Key election issues here include unemployment, absence of proper healthcare facilities as well as the shut-down of small businesses due to economic slowdown. The constituency has changed hands and everyone from the BJP, INC, SP, BSP and even the Communist Party of India have come to power here.

The incumbent is BJP’s Lallu Singh who is facing Anand Sen Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and also curiously Mahesh Tiwari of the Shiv Sena, the sons-of-the-soil party from Maharashtra that now has national expansion ambitions. The INC has fielded veteran Dr Nirmal Khatri who had won the seat in 2009. And though no VIP really represents the constituency, the age old demand for construction of a Ram Temple makes the deity the VIP here.

According to Census data, while just over 9 per cent of the people belong to Scheduled Castes, over 28 per cent identify as Muslim, making this a very diverse constituency.

The post UP’s VIP Constituencies go to Polls on May 6 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

11 शवों को एक साथ किया गया सुपुर्दे ख़ाक
आत्मा को झकझोर देने वाली इस वारदात के शिकार हुए लोगों के पोस्टमार्टम से लौटे शवों का उनके पुस्तैनी गांव पुरे बहादुर (दौलतपुर निसूरा ) परम्परागत रूप से अंतिम संस्कार कर दिया गया। एक साथ खोदी गयी 11 कब्रों को देखकर लोग दहल उठे और हर कोई उस मनहूस घड़ी को कोसने लगा जिस पल इतना बड़ा नरसंहार हुआ। सुपुर्दे ख़ाक की कार्यवाही में नमाजे जनाजा सुन्नी जामा मस्जिद व ईद गाह पेश इमाम हाफिज इसरार ने पढाई व दुवाए मगफिरत के लिए दुआ माँगी।नमाजे जनाजा में सैकड़ो से अधिक तादात में लोगो ने नमाज अदा की व मगफिरत की दुआए मांगी।
 

 
घटना मंगलवार की देर रात अमेठी जनपद की है के थाना शुकुल बाज़ार इलाके के महोना गाँव में हुई। इस परिवार के 11 लोगों की हत्या हुई है जबकि पुलिस इसको आर्थिक तंगी के चलते आत्महत्या कदम करार दे रही है और मीडिया में भी कुछ इस तरह की कहानी चल रही है।
 
10 लोगों की गला रेतकर दर्दनाक हत्या और प्राथमिक तौर पर इस घटना का ज़िम्मेदार माने जाने वाले मुखिया जमालुद्दीन ने जिन अपने ही परिवार के जिन 10 लोगों का कत्ल किया उनमें जमालुद्दीन ने अपनी बेटी आफरीन 18 वर्ष,मरियम 11 वर्ष,सानिया 8 वर्ष उज्मा 5 वर्ष के अलावा भाई की पत्नी हुस्ना बानो 35 वर्ष और उसकी बेटी रुबीना 17 वर्ष तहसीन बानो 8 और अपने एक और भाई रईस की पत्नी तब्बसुम 30 वर्ष के साथ उसकी भी बेटियों महक 7 वर्ष और निगार 6 वर्ष फातिमा 6 वर्ष का बेरहमी से कत्ल करने के बाद खुद भी फांसी लगाकर जान दे दी। इस भीषण नरसंहार में जमालुद्दीन के घर की 10 महिलाओं और खुद जमालुद्दीनन को मिलाकर 11 लोगों की मौत हो गयी।

Courtesy: National Dastak
 

The post जमालुद्दीन के परिवार के 11 शव उठे तो रो पड़ा अमेठी… appeared first on SabrangIndia.