Uttar Pradesh Police apologises after picture of man lynched over cow slaughter in Hapur goes viral

Lucknow: Days after the lynching of a man in Hapur allegedly over cow slaughter, a picture of the victim being dragged by a crowd in the presence of policemen has appeared on social media forcing the Uttar Pradesh police to apologise. Kasim, 45, was lynched following a minor tiff with a man on a motorcycle in Bacheda village in Pilkhuwa area on Monday. The motorcyclist called his friends who beat up Kasim and his friend Samayuddin. In a tweet, the Uttar Pradesh police apologised for the incident on Thursday night and said that the three policemen seen in the picture have been transferred to the Police Lines and an inquiry has been ordered. [caption id=“attachment_4570641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Victim Kasim dragged on the ground by the Uttar Pradesh Police. Twitter/@cpimspeak[/caption] DGP Headquarters Uttar Pradesh police said “this picture seems to have been taken when the police had reached the spot to shift the injured to the police vehicle and because of the non-availability of an ambulance at that moment, the victim was unfortunately carried this way.” “Admittedly, the policemen should have been more sensitive in their conduct. The humane concerns got ignored in the urgency of saving a life and maintaining law and order. As is clear from the picture the victim was rushed to the hospital by policemen in a UP100 PRV,” it added. The Hapur police had claimed Kasim and his friend were assaulted after a scuffle with some men from the neighbouring village. Police had registered a murder case and arrested two people. “There are some rumours of a cow slaughter angle but they have not been found to be true in the investigations so far,” the SP Sankalp had stated.