Youth Ends His Life in Maternal Village After Family Faces Police Case; Protests Erupt in Shahganj
In Prayagraj/Kaushambi, a young man took his own life late on Wednesday night after becoming deeply distressed over an FIR being registered against his entire family at Shahganj police station. The 22-year-old, Aqib, hanged himself at his maternal home in Tilgodi village, Kaushambi district.
On Thursday evening, following his death, the bereaved family members and neighborhood residents expressed their anger by placing his body in front of Shahganj police station and staging a road blockade (chakka jam). They demanded immediate action against the rival party. Senior police officials had to intervene to pacify the crowd.
Background of the Dispute
On Monday night in Kolhan Tola, a violent clash broke out between two groups, which also involved open firing into the air. Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Saif filed a police complaint naming Aqib, his father Aqeel Ahmed, and other family members as accused.
On the other hand, Aqib’s father, Aqeel Ahmed, lodged a counter-FIR against Mohammad Saif and two others from the rival group regarding the same clash in Bagantola. By Wednesday, the police arrested both Mohammad Saif and Aqeel Ahmed.
After the fight, Aqib went to his maternal village, Tilgodi, under the Pipri police station limits in Kaushambi. Saddened by the FIR lodged against his entire family and especially disturbed by the arrest of his father, Aqib hanged himself in his maternal home on Wednesday night.
According to his maternal uncle, Danish, Aqib was already upset due to his ongoing dispute with Mohammad Saif. The police had registered a case against his whole family and filed a chargesheet against his father, Aqeel Ahmed. This caused great mental distress to Aqib. On Wednesday night, he went to his room to sleep, but around 8 p.m., when relatives called him for dinner, they found him hanging from the ceiling with a rope. On Thursday, Pipri police conducted the post-mortem and handed over the body to the family.
Protests in Front of Shahganj Police Station
By Thursday evening, strong anger erupted outside Shahganj police station. As soon as Aqib’s body arrived from Kaushambi in an ambulance, family members and residents broke down in grief and outrage. They placed the body in front of the station, surrounded the premises, and blocked the road in protest against the police. The family demanded the immediate arrest of the other accused involved in the fight.
The police had to make continuous efforts for nearly an hour to calm the situation. Heated arguments broke out between the agitated crowd and the police during this time.
As the number of protestors kept growing, additional forces from nearby police stations, including Khuldabad and Kotwali, were called in. The blockade caused complete disruption of traffic on the main road.
Station House Officer Kapil Kumar tried to negotiate, but the protestors insisted that higher-ranking officers be present. Finally, ACP Kotwali Ravi Gupta arrived, spoke to the family and the demonstrators, and assured them that the other accused would also be arrested soon. Only after this assurance did the family and locals disperse with Aqib’s body.
Police sources later confirmed that Aqib already had cases registered against him before this incident.
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