Police on Saturday arrested two more people in the case of lynching of Dalit Hariom Valmiki in Harchandpur area of Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. The names of these accused are Ajay Agrahari and Akhilesh Maurya. Police have so far arrested 16 people in this case. Along with this, five policemen including two sub-inspectors have been suspended for negligence.
According to the information, this incident happened on the night of October 2, when Hariom Valmiki (40) was beaten to death by the villagers considering him to be a drone thief. There was a religious program in the village that night. At the same time, a rumor spread that a gang of thieves was recceing the area through drones. At the same time, the villagers considered Hariom a thief and within no time the crowd became violent. Beat him brutally.
Hariom, who was seriously injured in this incident, died on the spot. This gruesome incident spread sensation in the entire area. The very next day the video went viral on social media. It became a big issue in the politics of the state. After the attack, the police took swift action and registered a case. After this 14 people were arrested. These included the main accused, who was caught after the encounter.
Congress and Samajwadi Party accused the BJP government of failure to protect Dalits and failure to stop mob violence. The opposition called it an example of the collapsing law and order structure of the Yogi government. After this case, Hariom’s wife Sangeeta and other family members reached Lucknow on October 11, where they met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The Chief Minister assured the family of justice and help. Announcing immediate government assistance, he assured Sangeeta of a house, a permanent job and priority coverage in welfare schemes under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana. Meanwhile, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi Had met the family of the deceased in Fatehpur district on Friday. He accused the officials of stopping him.
After this meeting, Rahul Gandhi wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “The brutal murder of Hariom Valmiki has shaken the conscience of the entire country. His family had a question in their eyes with pain: Is being a Dalit in this country still a deadly crime? Rae Bareli This lynching has once again raised deep questions on the mob violence instigated by rumors in the state.
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