Five persons accused of hacking to death an Army jawan’s father in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi were arrested on Wednesday, police said.
The arrests were made after a video of the jawan Surya Prakash Mishra, his vest red with the blood of his father, was seen crying next to a stretcher bearing his dead father, was widely shared on social media. Mr. Mishra said he was posted in Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir.
On July 21 evening, the accused persons barged into the residence of the Mishras in Shukulpur Thengah village in Sangrampur and allegedly assaulted Surya Prakash’s father Rajendra Prasad and also damaged the motorcycle and water pipe lying there, said the police. Rajendra died on the way to the hospital, they added.
Mr. Surya Prakash, who was not at home then, said his father was hit with sharp weapons and that the accused men, who were from his neighbourhood, also assaulted the women in the house.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Piyoosh Kant Rai said five out of the six named accused were arrested and the weapons used in the crime, three lathis and one iron rod, were recovered.
Mr. Rai said there was no major dispute between the two sides. They had had a dispute over the spattering of water when a wall in the Mishra house was undergoing plaster work, said the officer.
“We have checked the register. There was no such information [registered by the Mishras] in the last seven-eight months,” he said.
However, Mr. Surya Prakash said that the police had failed to take action when the family had telephoned them during previous disputes.
“I am myself a jawan (soldier). If I could not save my father, how will I serve my country?” asked a distraught Mr. Surya Prakash soon after the incident. He also threatened to take his own life if the accused were not arrested soon.
The arrested accused were identified as Ashok Kumar Shukla, Vagish Shukla, Chandrabhan Shukla, Gaurav Shukla and Sagar Shukla. Efforts are on to arrest the sixth accused, police said.
