A five-member fact-finding team of the CPI(ML) visited the site of the death of 35-year-old youth Pradeep Patel in Jarho Dam, Ahraura police station area of Mirzapur, on Friday (August 22).
Releasing the team’s report August 23, CPI(ML) State Secretary Sudhakar Yadav said that Pradeep was murdered, but under political pressure the case is being covered up. The attempt is to protect the real culprits. The fishing contract of the dam is held by a minister and an MLA of the ruling BJP.
According to the facts gathered by the team, two young men had gone fishing in Jarho Dam. The contractor brutally beat both of them and threw them into the dam. Pradeep died, while the other youth, Vishal, managed to swim to safety. Soon thousands of villagers gathered at the site. The police arrived in large numbers, forcibly took away the body, and cremated it immediately after post-mortem. This sequence of events has provoked deep anger among the villagers. Despite this, the contractor has not been arrested, and the district police are busy trying to hush up the case.
The CPI(ML) State Secretary demanded an impartial, high-level investigation, strict punishment for the guilty, and justice for the bereaved family. The five-member fact-finding team included district committee member and Kisan Mahasabha district president Om Prakash Patel, Kisan Mahasabha district secretary Ravishankar, Suresh Biyar, AIPWA leader Chinta Biyar, and Rajkumar Patel.
