Main accused in UP Dalit student murder arrested

Vijay Shanker Singh, the main accused in the murder of Dalit student Dileep Saroj, was arrested by the Allahabad Police on Wednesday.

Singh, who was on the run after the murder, hails from Sultanpur district and was posted in Ghazipur as TTE. He has been placed under suspension from the Railways by the DRM Varanasi after a letter from Allahabad SSP, Akash Kulhari, about his involvement in the murder. Dileep was a second-year LLB student .

“The accused has been suspended with immediate effect and a departmental inquiry has also been ordered against him. His services may be terminated after the inquiry report,” said PRO Varanasi Zone, Ashok Kumar.

Singh was a national-level volleyball player and was given a job in the Railways under the sports quota. He got involved in a verbal dual with the student last Friday over a trivial issue at a restaurant in Katra.

It soon turned into a major brawl as Singh called his driver and two others and dragged the Dalit student on the road. They thrashed him with iron rods and sticks until he fell unconscious. The entire incident was caught on CCTV camera installed outside the restaurant.

The student was rushed to hospital where he slipped into a coma and later succumbed to his injuries. Students in Allahabad, led by Samajwadi Party Yuvja Sabha and AISA, went on to a rampage on Tuesday, torching a bus and damaging several vehicles.

Condoling the death, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the victim’s family.

Confirming the arrest, SSP Allahabad Akash Kulhari said his driver and a waiter of the restaurant, who were involved in the crime, were arrested earlier. Three policemen, including SHO Katra Police Post, were placed under suspension following the murder.

SPAT TURNED UGLY

Singh hails from Sultanpur and was posted in Ghazipur as TTE. He was a national-level volleyball player and got a job in the Railways under the sports quota. He got into a verbal duel with the Dalit student, which turned into an ugly spat, leading to the murder