A Dalit died after he was beaten up for allegedly plucking vegetables from the field belonging to the assailants in Elau area of Mainpuri district.

The station officer (SO), outpost in-charge and a constable have been suspended for laxity in handling the matter and the Superintendent of Police has been asked to conduct an inquiry into the role of the erring policemen.

The Agra Range IG, Vijay Kumar, said Shri Krishna Baheliya (50) had been assaulted on Saturday and succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening.

The local police had lodged the FIR only after his death, providing enough time to the accused to escape, the IG said.

The Mainpuri CO (City) Ajit Kumar said Subhash Chandra and Sitaram of Nagla Kail village had assaulted fellow villager Baheliya alleging that he always plucked vegetables from their field. They thrashed him hard and left the place leaving him unconscious.

The CO added that after spotting injured Baheliya on Sunday, the priest of a temple close to the spot informed the sub-inspector in-charge of the nearby police outpost.

Subsequently, S-I Rajesh Kumar admitted the victim to the district hospital.

The S-I and the Station Officer of Elau police station, Akhilesh Tripathi, however, did not lodge an FIR against the accused. Nor did they made any effort to arrest them, Ajit Kumar said.

Tripathi, Rajesh Kumar and constable clerk Malikhan Singh were suspended for concealing the matter from senior officers and not initiating action, the Agra IG said.