UP Businessman Attacked With Iron Rods in Full Public View

Hapur: A businessman was attacked with iron rods and sticks by four men in full public view after a small altercation in Hapur, near Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The brutal assault took place four days ago and was captured on CCTV cameras, but police has not taken any action so far. Till Saturday, police reportedly even refused to file an FIR despite the victim’s statements and the CCTV footage being submitted to them.

The victim, a shopkeeper, told CNN-News18, that he was returning home after closing his shop when he was stopped by two men. He said they started an argument with him and started hitting him. Not satisfied with the pain meted out to him, they called more people for support.

Soon, two more men, armed with iron rods, started thrashing him mercilessly. The attack went on for nearly a minute, but none of the passersby came forward to help. The victim has received several wounds all over the body, including a fracture in his left hand.

BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak described the attack as shocking and said action would be taken against police officials if it is confirmed than an FIR was not registered promptly. He said he would take up the matter with police officials. However, he said that the BJP government was not to blame for the law and order situation as it had improved from what it was under the previous SP government.

Congress spokesperson from UP, Amarnath Agrawal, however, said it showed a complete failure of governance in the state. “The visuals proved that the government is not interested in maintaining law and order in the state," he said, adding that similar cases have become a daily affair.

“Since government-backed gau rakshaks have a free licence from the state, there is no fear of the law anymore," said Agrawal.

SP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari said that as UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is busy with religious tourism, the public does not know who to hold accountable. “The government issues diktats on law and order, but does not take any action. The law and order situation has completely failed," he said.