Lucknow: A 25-year-old disabled man was allegedly burnt alive over a land dispute in Gorakhpur in the wee hours of Monday. The victim, Surendra Yadav (25), was sleeping outside his house when his cot caught fire under mysterious circumstances. By the time his other family members came out to save him, he had succumbed to burns. The family has alleged the role of village head’s husband Lalbachan in the incident.
Senior police officers, including additional director general of police, Gorakhpur Zone, Akhil Kumar, and Gorakhpur SSP Gaurav Grover, visited the spot along with a team of forensic experts. Police have detained six persons, including Lalbachan, and are interrogating them.
According to police, the family had dinner on Sunday night following which, Surendra went to sleep outside the house on a cot. Around 2.45 am, the locals spotted flames and alerted the family members.
“His family members came out of their room and found Surendra charred. They doused the flames with water, but could not save Surendra,” said the police. Locals alerted UP 112 and the fire department.
Surendra’s sister, Reeta Kumari, told cops that village head’s husband Lalbachan had a dispute with them over the construction of a water tank on a public property. “We were opposed to it and that’s why he got my brother killed,” she alleged.
ADG Kumar who visited the spot said that an FIR under the charges of murder has been registered against Lalbachan and the postmortem report is awaited for further action.
“Prima facie, Surendra was killed elsewhere, and his body was dumped and burnt to conceal the evidence,” said Kumar. The officer added that the accused claimed that he had installed a CCTV camera outside his office, which could be checked to confirm his presence there at the time of the incident.
“We will be probing the case from all angles,” the ADG added.
Surendra, who couldn’t walk, had lost his father, and used to live with his mother and brother, said the police.
