Meerut senior cop thrashes man at protest over Dalit woman’s murder

A protest over the death of a Dalit woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut turned violent on Wednesday, with police arresting seven people and registering cases against more than 30 others on charges including unlawful assembly and assaulting police personnel.

The protest drew widespread criticism after a video that went viral on social media purportedly showed Meerut Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Avinash Pandey entering a police van to assault one of the arrested men.

The 30-second clip shows the SSP walking towards sloganeering protesters and slapping several of them before proceeding to a police van. He is then seen opening the van’s door and beating up someone sitting inside, after which the door is shut.

Police, however, claimed the protesters attacked policemen, including women personnel, and left several of them injured.

When contacted about the video, SSP Pandey did not comment except to say that “we did not even know who this person was when he was held”.

He said two men had instigated the protest over the woman’s killing merely to gain publicity.

There has been no official response from senior police officers or the Uttar Pradesh government. Additional Director General (ADG), Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar, did not respond to calls or messages seeking comment.

What happened on Wednesday

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According to police, the woman went missing on May 15 and was found dead on May 16. The main accused, who was her friend, was arrested on May 18 and another accused was arrested later for allegedly destroying evidence.

On Wednesday around 11 am, a group gathered at the Meerut Commissionerate alleging that the actual culprits had not been arrested.

In a statement, Meerut Police said the crowd was repeatedly asked to disperse as it did not have permission to protest at the site, but the demonstration allegedly turned violent.

Police claimed one of the protesters, Ravi Gautam, threatened to immolate himself, while others blocked traffic at the Commissionerate crossing, attempted to force open the gate of the District Magistrate’s office and tried to enter the premises.

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Addressing the media, SSP Pandey claimed protesters pushed and scuffled with police and administrative officials before attacking personnel. To restore law and order and clear traffic, police used the “minimum necessary force” to disperse the crowd, he said.

Police claim

The SSP further claimed preliminary investigation found that two men, Ravi and Digvijay Bhati, had mobilised people to stage the protest. “The woman was murdered on May 16 and the killer was arrested within 24 hours. Those who helped him after the murder have also been arrested,” the SSP said.

The SSP claimed that while the victim’s family was satisfied with the investigation and arrests, Ravi and Digvijay, both from outside Meerut, organised the protest only to gain attention.

According to police, Ravi, who belongs to Surajpur area in Gautam Buddh Nagar, has four criminal cases registered against him, including two of murder, in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar. Digvijay, who hails from Amroha, has nine criminal cases against him — five in Amroha and four in Meerut — and proceedings had already been initiated to extern him from Amroha district under the Goonda Act, Pandey said.

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In a separate statement, Meerut Police identified Digvijay, Ravi, Sushil Gautam and Himanshu Sidharth as the key individuals who allegedly incited protesters to turn violent. While the others were arrested, Digvijay escaped from the protest site, police claimed.

An FIR has been registered at Civil Lines police station against 13 named accused and 25-50 unidentified persons on charges including unlawful assembly without permission, blocking a public road, obstructing government work, attack with intention to kill police personnel, and spreading misleading propaganda on social media.

Seven have been arrested, the statement said.

Police also claimed caste-based messages and misleading content were circulated on social media to incite people against the police. They said CCTV footage, videos and social media posts are being analysed to identify others involved.