Lucknow, September 17 (IANS) Gorakhpur police on Wednesday arrested Rahim Khan, the prime accused of the murder of leadership Deepak Gupta, in which he was injured after an encounter.
Khan was admitted to a hospital for treatment, while a pistol and a motorcycle were recovered from him.
Gupta, a medical aspiration, was allegedly killed by cattle smugglers in Gorakhpur on Monday. Rahim Khan was named as one of the accused in the case.
Gorakhpur SSP Raj Karan Nayyar said that four accused have been arrested so far, while two others are still absconding.
He said that Khan set fire to the police team on fire by the police team, forcing him to retaliate, causing him injury. Two other accused, Chhatu and Raju are being questioned.
Nayyar said the police have announced a reward for the absconding accused, whose identity has been confirmed, and five dedicated teams are conducting raids to nab them.
The family members of the victim protested against the murder and sought justice.
Reacting to the encounter, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav launched a sharp attack on the government, questioning its law and order records.
“Before 2022, a businessman from Kanpur died in police custody, and now a young student preparing to become a doctor in Gorakhpur has been killed. What was the police doing in the Chief Minister’s home district despite such a big cattle smuggling of the police? Why was a encounter necessary?” He asked.
Calling the encounter as “pre-planned”, Akhilesh Yadav alleged: “When a senior officer went to Gorakhpur, it was decided. It did not happen that night, but the encounter took place, while our press conference was going on.”
The SP chief said that “the law and order in the encounters will not improve; they will only improve good officers by giving opportunity, not by assigning police stations on the basis of caste”. He accused the government of using encounters to “hide its failures” and alleged that the people involved in the cow slaughter were associated with the BJP, with the administration “Complicated in the Gorakhpur incident”.
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SKP/CEO