Gorakhpur: Deepak Gupta, a 19-year-old student preparing for the NEET medical entrance exam, was allegedly shot dead by cattle smugglers in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur on Monday, September 15.
In order to demand justice for Deepak, angry villagers blocked the Gorakhpur-Pipraich road in protest, which later turned violent, as per a report by Dainik Bhaskar.
Here's What Happened
The tragic sequence of events began around 12:30 am on Monday when a group of cattle smugglers arrived in three separate vehicles to steal livestock from a village. When villagers raised an alarm, Deepak went to chase the smugglers alone. However, the criminals managed to catch him, forced him into their DCM vehicle, and drove him around for an hour. They then allegedly shot him in the mouth, killing him before crushing his head and dumping his body four kilometres away from his home.
The villagers soon began protesting, which later took a violent turn. As per the report, they managed to corner one of the DCM vehicles and set it on fire, while the others escaped. In a separate pursuit, villagers chased and caught one of the smugglers, beating him black and blue. The violence also resulted in injuries to two police officers, SP North Jitendra Srivastava and Pipraich police station in-charge Purushottam, who were trying to intervene and control the mob.
Protesters Demand Action, Police Launch Probe
The brutal murder of Deepak angered the local villagers and on Tuesday morning (September 16), a large crowd of residents blocked the Gorakhpur-Pipraich road, demanding immediate arrest of all those responsible for his murder.
Police forced from four different stations, along with the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), were deployed to the scene to manage the situation and try to placate the grieving family and enraged villagers. The police have launched an investigation into both the murder and the subsequent mob violence.
