Hapur lynching case: SC issues notice to Uttar Pradesh govt, calls for Meerut IG to probe matter; next hearing on 28 Aug

The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government in the Hapur lynching case and asked the Meerut inspector-general to conduct an inquiry and submit a report on Monday. Representing the survivor, Senior Counsel KV Vishwanathan told the three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, that the incident was being portrayed as “road rage”, reported  Bar and Bench. The apex court conducted an urgent hearing of the petition after NDTV aired a sting operation which showed the accused Rakesh Sisodia, who is currently out on bail, bragging about the crime and confessing that he even told the jail authorities about it. Earlier this month, the four accused in connection with the controversial case were granted bail after they told the court that they had no role in the attack. [caption id=“attachment_4859051” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Supreme Court of India. PTI[/caption] “Haan maine bola ki wo gaaye kaat rahe they, maine usko kaat diya… jailer ke saamne (I told the jailer that they [the victims] were slaughtering cows so I slaughtered them),” NDTV quoted Sisodia as saying. During the hearing, the apex court asked the Meerut IG to ensure protection to witnesses in the case and fixed the matter for further hearing on 28 August. The court was hearing the plea of a survivor of the Hapur lynching case, who is sought a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter. Besides seeking SIT probe, the petitioner also sought transfer of case and subsequent trial outside Uttar Pradesh amid allegations that the police have not recorded his statement. He has also demanded cancellation of the bail of the accused. On 18 June, 45-year-old cattle trader Qasim Qureshi was lynched, and 65-year-old farmer Samayuddin was brutally beaten over rumours of cow slaughter in Hapur district’s Bajhera Khurd village in Uttar Pradesh. Several videos and photographs of the mob thrashing the two men had emerged on social media after the incident. Among them was a video that purportedly shows a mob beating up a man and forcing him to confess to having slaughtered a cow. The clip went viral on social media. With inputs from ANI