More than 24 hours after Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Fisheries Jamuna Nishad along with his supporters went on a rampage at the Maharajganj Kotwali, cops were yet to make an arrest in connection with the episode which resulted in the killing of police constable Krishnanand Rai.

“Six teams have been constituted and raids are being conducted to arrest those involved in the incident. We will certainly be able to make some arrests by night,” SP (Maharajganj) Prashant Kumar told The Indian Express on Sunday.

Some of the police officials said raids had been conducted at Rampur village which held the key to the incident. DIG (Gorakhpur Range) G L Meena is personally supervising the police operation and is camping there.

A case has been registered against Jamuna Nishad, his aide Sailesh Madhesiya and more than 50 others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

On May 26, a teenaged girl was allegedly raped by a youth in Rampur Bujurg village. Despite pressure from the girl’s family, who happen to be related to the minister, the police at Maharajganj Kotwali did not register a rape case. Instead they lodged a complaint of eve teasing against the youth, who was later arrested.

To press for the registration of a rape case, despite a medical examination of the girl suggesting otherwise, Nishad along with his supporters reached the Kotwali at around 10 pm on Saturday looking for SHO Vijayi Prasad Chowdhary, who was not present at the police station. According to Ram Agya, constable on duty, Nishad’s supporters went on a rampage breaking a wireless set, a telephone set and even breaking open the locks of the police station’s ‘Malkhana’ and then attempted to loot weapons stored there.

... contd.