Bahraich:

A Class-11 student of Navayug Inter College at Mihinpurwa in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district allegedly stabbed his English teacher on Thursday for confiscating his mobile phone in the classroom, police said.

The teacher, Rajendra Prasad, sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment at the district medical college, they added.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (City) Ramanand Prasad Kushwaha told PTI, “Three days ago, the teacher confiscated mobile phones of several students since using cell phones is prohibited on the campus. Angered by the move, one of the boys attacked the teacher with a knife when he was taking attendance on Thursday.” 

The ASP said that the injured teacher was rushed to a local hospital, which referred him to the district medical college due to the severity of his injuries.

Based on a complaint lodged by the teacher’s family members, a case has been registered against the accused student, and the knife used in the crime has been recovered, the officer said.

Speaking to reporters from his hospital bed, Mr Prasad said, “A few days ago, the mobile phones of a few students were confiscated which were returned later. However, some students got upset by the move. Three students were involved in the attack on me — one arranged the knife, another attacked me, and a third student assisted them. I was caught off-guard when I was attacked. As I tried to push him away, he struck on my head.”

 “If evidence shows the involvement of other students, action will be taken against them as well,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Shopkeepers in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich vacated shops and salvaged their goods on Saturday as a demolition drive was in the offing, a week after a man’s death during Durga Puja procession led to communal tensions and subsequent arrests.

What happened on October 13?

A 22-year-old man, identified as Ram Gopal Mishra, was shot dead in the Maharajganj area of the district during a communal flare-up after a group of people objected to loud music in front of a religious institution. A video circulated after the incident showed him removing a green flag from the rooftop of a house in a frenzy and supplanting it with a saffron flag. He was shot immediately afterward.

Mishra was taken to the hospital, where he was declared dead. This was followed by destruction of property, stone pelting and arson.

Communal tensions, an encounter and arrests

The district was on edge for days in the wake of the killings, witnessing various incidents of arson and vandalism, forcing the authorities to suspend internet for four days. Some shops, houses and vehicles were vandalised. A car showroom was set on fire on October 14, even as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave orders to the police to deal strictly with those disrupting law and order or spreading rumours. He also met Mishra’s family at his official residence in Lucknow, where he assured action against the accused.

Additional troops, including some paramilitary forces units, had to be called in to ensure surveillance.

Mishra’s family refused to cremate the body and held a sit-down protest, relenting only after assurances of action from the police and administration officials.

Five men suspected to be involved in Mishra’s death were arrested on Thursday after an encounter with the UP Police in which two of them Mohammad Talim and Mohammad Sarfaraz suffered gunshot injuries.

The five allegedly tried to flee to Nepal, which shares a border with Bahraich. They were identified as Mohammad Faheen, Mohammad Sarfaraz, Abdul Hameed, Mohammad Taleem alias Sabloo, and Mohammad Afzal.

By Friday, the Uttar Pradesh Police had arrested 87 people in Bahraich in connection with the rioting and around 1,000 people were booked after at least 11 FIRs were registered in the matter.

Circle Officer Rupendra Gaur, Tehsildar Ravikant Dwivedi and District Information Officer Ghulam Waris Siddiqui were removed from their positions after the violence. A station house officer and a police outpost in charge were suspended.

PWD issues demolition notice to accused

The PWD on Friday carried out “routine” inspections in the Mahrajganj area and took measurements of 20-25 houses, including that of Hameed, one of the men accused of having a role in Mishra’s killing. According to the notice at Hameed’s house, the PWD said the construction was “illegal” since it was built within 60 feet of the central point of the road in rural areas, which is not allowed.

The notice asked Hameed to vacate the construction within three days or it would be demolished “and the expenses incurred for this action will be recovered from you through revenue means.” District Magistrate Monika Rani on Friday told reporters that the “encroachments” were being removed to widen the roads in Mahrajganj.

An official on the condition of anonymity told news agency PTI it was a routine exercise conducted annually “to demolish houses built on the intersections, S curves or junction points of the road.”

Panic among shopkeepers

Shopkeepers in Bahraich emptied premises and salvaged their goods as the Public Works Department served notices to 23 establishments – 20 of them belonging to Muslims. BJP MLA from Mahsi Sureshwar Singh told PTI, “In all, there are around 50 shops. Barring one or two, most of them on the Mahrajganj bypass may face action. No one will be spared whatever may be their religion.”

Killers should suffer same fate: Deceased’s family

The wife of the man shot dead in Bahraich said she will get justice only when her husband’s killers are dead. Roli Mishra also accused the authorities of taking bribes to deny “justice” to her. She said her husband’s killers, though arrested, were yet to be killed. “We have been shown that they have got bullet wounds on their legs, but justice is not being done to us,” she said.

Kailash Nath Mishra, the father of Ram Gopal Mishra, told reporters he was satisfied with his meeting with Yogi Adityanath. “We are satisfied. We got what we demanded from the Chief Minister,” he said. The CM, Kailash Nath said, promised the family money to build a house, a job for his daughter-in-law, some cash, and an Ayushman card (health insurance cover). “What else is there to say, he has promised us all the facilities. But we demand our son’s killer must suffer the same fate,” he said.

Samajwadi Party leader stopped from visiting violence-hit district

On Saturday, Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey was stopped from coming to Bahraich through an advance notice by the collector.

The Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly said he was told not to go to Bahraich as the situation may get worse there. “If something goes wrong, they will blame us. The organisation has also given me the same advice and the DM has also asked me to come only after three days,” Pandey said.

New Delhi:

Mohammad Sarfaraz — wanted for the murder of a man in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh that triggered largescale violence — and four others were arrested after an encounter with the police today near the Nepal border in the district. Sarfaraz is accused of shooting a man during Saturday’s Durga idol immersion procession in Mahrajganj area of Mansoor village. The police had gone there to recover the weapon that was used. 

The shooting took place on Saturday during violence that started as an altercation over the playing of music on loudspeakers during the immersion procession. 

But the next day, it led to largescale violence, arson, and clashes with the police as the family of Ram Gopal Mishra refused to cremate the body and held a sit-down protest. They relented only after assurances of action from the police and administration officials. 

The police later conducted flag marches and snapped cellphone internet to bring the situation under control. Later, additional troops, including some paramilitary forces units, had to be called in to ensure surveillance.  

Later, acting on information provided by one of the 50 men arrested in connection with the violence, the police had caught up with Sarfaraz and others near the Nepal border. But the men, intent on crossing the border, had opened fire at the police with the murder weapon. 

In the exchange of fire that followed, Sarfaraz and another accused in the case, Mohammed Talib, got injured. They are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital. The police said the murder weapon has been recovered. 

Amitabh Yash, the chief of the Special Task force, Uttar Pradesh, said the men will now be able to shed light on what happened during the violence. “They will be able to give information on whatever network they used and how they evaded the police over the last few days,” he added.  

The matter is now threatening to develop into a full-scale political controversy, with the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) accusing the Yogi Adityanath government of covering up its law and order problems with an encounter. 

“This incident was an administrative failure. The government is resorting to encounters to cover up its shortcomings. If encounters were truly improving law and order in the state, Uttar Pradesh would be far ahead of other states,” said Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav.

“The government has been conducting fake encounters for a long time. They are merely trying to cover up their failures,” UP Congress President Ajay Rai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The STF, though, has said it would prove in court whether the encounter was genuine or not.

The main accused in the Durga puja related violence in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, has been arrested from near Nepal border. Sarfaraz was trying to flee and was caught after an encounter with the police, sources said. He and a co-accused, Talib, were injured and are receiving medical treatment at a local hospital, the police said.

The clashes had started at the Mahrajganj area of Mansoor village on Sunday evening, with an altercation over music played on loudspeakers during the Durga idol immersion procession. 

As the matter snowballed, stone throwing and firing started, in which six people were injured. A man sustained gunshot wounds and died.

The family of Ram Gopal Mishra, residents of Rehua Mansoor village, had refused to cremate the body and held a sit-down protest. They relented after assurances of action from the police and administration officials. 

Tension escalated the next day, with arson and violence and subsequent clashes with the police in some pockets.

The police later conducted flag marches, cellphone internet was snapped to bring the situation under control. Later, additional troops, including some paramilitary forces units, had to called in to ensure surveillance.  

More than 50 people were arrested in connection with the violence. But the main accused has eluded the police net – till no. Sources said their whereabouts were determined after questioning their friend, Danish, who was among those arrested.

New Delhi:

While the Uttar Pradesh government is concerned over attacks by wolves in some districts including Bahraich, state minister Baby Rani Maurya has given a bizarre explanation over why it is not easy to control the menace swiftly.

In Jhansi, answering reporters’ questions on the wolf attacks, Ms Maurya said the wolves are not being easily caught as the animals were “more clever than the government.”

“Many teams are engaged in searching for the wolves. We will find them. But it is taking time because the wolves are more clever than the government. We are looking into the matter. The wolves will be caught soon,” she said, adding the state forest minister is personally handling the search.

An eight-year-old boy was injured in a wolf attack while playing outside his home in Mahsi tehsil in Bahraich today, his family has said.

The boy, injured on his face, has been hospitalised, a government doctor said. In the last two months, Bahraich district has recorded eight deaths, including seven children in a series of attacks by wolves while nearly three dozen others were left injured, according to official figures.

The latest attack took place on Thursday evening at Golwa village of Mahsi tehsil — a rural area closer to the city, but away from the areas of all the previous attacks.

“The child was playing near the door of the house. Then the wolf knocked him down and injured him. As soon as the wolf knocked him down, the child started screaming. When we all heard the scream, we ran shouting. Hearing the noise, the wolf left the child and ran away. We all have seen the wolf running away,” the boy’s mother said.

The local medical college’s principal Dr Sanjay Khatri said the child was attacked from behind by the wolf.

“He is being treated after being admitted to the medical college. The child has suffered super facial injuries on the left side of his cheek and neck, and has been given two stitches. The child’s condition is out of danger,” Mr Khatri said.

Since March, wolves have been attacking children and adults in the Mahsi tehsil area of Bahraich.

The attacks increased from July 17 during the rainy season and till date, a total of eight people, including seven children, have died due to these attacks.

New Delhi:

The fear generated by the wolf pack of Bahraich is being felt in other parts of the country. After 8 people, including 7 children and a woman, were killed by wolves over around 45 days, neighbouring Bihar is seeing a panic reaction.

In Bihar’s Maksudpur, a jackal was brutally killed because of the fear generated by sensational reports of the “killer wolves” of Bahraich. The jackal — spotted in the ruins of the Maksudpur fort — created panic. The animal was cornered and beaten to death.

This has left conservationists concerned about the reporting of such events.

“Media has a huge responsibility to stop the spread of unnecessary panic… The recent spate of alleged killings of children by wolves in Bahraich and the extensive coverage it has got in national and regional media are responsible for such barbaric acts in places that are hundreds of kilometers away,” said Dr Anish Andheria, President and CEO – Wildlife Conservation Trust.

“There many wrong things about this incident – a) mindless clobbering of an animal in cold blood, b) the criminals have mistaken a jackal for a wolf, c) the act highlights absolute disrespect towards the law [Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)], d) video-graphing the entire act shows sadistic tendencies in the perpetrator/s,” he said.

Golden jackals are fairly common across India and are distinctly different from the other canid species, the Indian grey wolf.  

Compared to these wolves, the jackals have shorter legs, tail and snout. They are distinctively smaller in size as well. Both are found mainly in grasslands and scrublands. Unfortunately, the range lies outside protected areas, as in UP’s Bahraich and it is a victim of unchecked development and shrinking territory.

Indian scientist and former Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dr YV Jhala, an expert on Indian wolves, said: “People have been misinformed by the media which is blowing it out of proportion and context. It’s time to take responsibility and not sensationalise and exaggerate. Simple solution to reducing the attacks and deaths is to be vigilant, take care of children always accompanied by adults, sleep indoors with doors closed or blocked with thorn hedge”.

The lack of prey base is another challenge in the area.

“There is no natural wild prey in the area,” said Dr Jhala. “Children are vulnerable to all predators including dogs if they are not looked after carefully,” he said.

Poor housing and sanitation facilities due to extreme poverty, compounded with lack of parental care (because of absentee and working parents) in this part of the country create a unique situation, where it becomes easier to kill children compared to livestock.

In Uttar Pradesh, officials have caught four wolves so far under “Operation Bhediya”.

The Bahraich district magistrate, and senior police and forest officials, have been leading the ongoing efforts along with divisional forest officers of four districts. High-frequency drone cameras have been used to monitor the wolf pack. The forest department has also been using elephant dung and urine to divert the wolves’ route when the attack occurred.

Officials said on Sunday that they have detected the presence of two wolves through drones and would capture them by today or tomorrow.

The Indian grey wolf, a sub species of the grey wolf, is highly endangered, like the tiger and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Bahraich, UP:

A special court in UP’s Bahraich sentenced a 50-year-old man to life in prison for raping an infant. The Additional District Judge (POCSO) Varun Mohit Nigam also imposed a fine of Rs 1.29 lakh on the convict.

The man, Bhondu Rehman, raped the one-year-old girl who belonged to the Scheduled Caste, Special District Government Advocate (POCSO Act) Sant Pratap Singh said.

On February 17, the man took the girl out on some pretext. When she did not return home for a while, the family started looking for her. Soon, they found Bhondu in a mustard field with the infant who was bleeding.

After seeing the family, Bhondu ran leaving the girl, Mr Singh said.

A case was registered under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code, including for rape, and the POCSO Act.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)