Business rivalry lands Dalit youth in police lock-up

Varanasi, Aug 8 (UNI) Fierce business rivalry allegedly landed a Dalit youth in the Manduadih police station lock-up here last night.

Jitendra Sonkar (23), whose father Lakshaman owns a street-side footwear stall in Lanka area had since yesterday also started selling 'kafan' (shroud covering corpse) despite objection by some other vendors engaged in similar business.

''The 'kafan' sellers had threatened my son with dire consequences if he engaged in the same business, but Jitendra unnerved by their threats went ahead with the business,'' Lakshaman told newspersons here today.

A man last night arrived at Lakshaman's shoe-shop and after buying a pair of slippers asked Jitendra and his mother to look after a bag and the pair of slippers till he returned with mangoes from the other side of the road, Lakshaman added.

Just when the man had left the shoe shop, two police constables -- Arvind Bhardwaj and Rajesh Yadav -- posted at District Police's Summon Cell and Chaubeypur Police Station respectively came to the shoe-shop and forcefully took away Jitendra claiming that he had stashed explosives in the bag left by the man who had gone to buy mangoes.

Jitendra's family immediately along with other locales reached the Lanka police station, but cops at that police station told them that Jitendra had not been brought there.

Later, due to the efforts of SHO Lanka Sanjay Pandey -- who was kept in the dark about the entire episode by both constables -- it came to light that Jitendra had been taken by the two constables to the Manduadih police station.

The locales led by Jitendra's family today staged demonstration outside the Lanka police station following which Circle Officer (Bhelupur) O P Pandey personally intervened in the matter and subsequent investigation revealed that Jitendra was not involved in the matter.

''Jitendra has been released this afternoon and a detailed probe by CO Bhelupur is underway into the entire matter,'' Police Superintendent (City) A K Pandey told UNI today.

''We are investigating the entire matter as to how a bag containing crude bomb like things reached shop of Jitendra, who has no criminal history. Investigations were also underway to look into the suspected role of the two police constables in the entire matter,'' CO Bhelupur O P Pandey told newspersons at the Lanka police station.

Sources at the Lanka police station confided that Jitendra's detention by the two constables was the handiwork of the shroud vendors who had unsuccessfully tried to prevent Jitendra from entering their business.

Interestingly, Arvind Bhardwaj, one of the two constables who forcefully took away Jitendra to Manduadih police station was sent to lines early this year by previous Senior Police Superintendent Sujit Pandey in connection with a criminal case.

UNI