In Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria murder case, the district administration is mulling to take bulldozer action against the illegal properties of Premchand Yadav, the former district panchayat member who was killed in the massacre that happened as an apparent act of retribution following a longstanding land dispute between the families of Prem Yadav and Satya Prakash Dubey. Satya Prakash Dubey and 4 other members of his family were also killed in the incident that occurred on October 2, 2023.
While the police have arrested 16 people in connection with the case, sources say that the district administration, led by SDM Judicial Seema Pandey, spent a full day examining the property surrounding Premchand Yadav and the homes of the other accused. According to the probe, a portion of Yadav’s newly built house is located on agricultural land, raising the possibility of bulldozer action.
Administrative officials have been quoted by media as saying that if any irregularities are found after inspection of the disputed properties then bulldozers will be used on Premchand Yadav’s house.
The decade-old land dispute that led to the Deoria tragedy
On October 2, Monday, a decade-old land dispute between the families of a former zila panchayat member named Prem Yadav and Satya Prakash Dubey in the Fatehpur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district claimed the lives of half a dozen people, including women and minors. The massacre that happened in broad daylight, that too in a span of less than 30 minutes, sparked tension in the region leading to heavy deployment of police force in the village and adjoining regions.
For a long period, the village strongman, Prem Yadav, and Satya Prakash Dubey in the Deoria area had been embroiled in a property dispute.
According to Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma, a preliminary investigation revealed that Prem Yadav purchased 10 bighas of land from Satya Prakash’s elder brother Gyan Chand Dubey in 2014. Satya Prakash opposed the sale and filed a lawsuit. Gyan Chand left the state a few years after selling his farm.
Although the case is still pending in court, things turned ugly on Monday (October 2) at about 7:30 a.m. when Prem Yadav went to inspect the land he purchased near Satya Prakash’s residence.
According to the police, Satya Prakash also arrived at the scene and made some remarks against Prem Yadav. He then went back home. Prem Yadav arrived at Satya Prakash’s house a few minutes later, and the two had a furious altercation. The situation quickly deteriorated, and a woman from Satya Prakash’s family attacked Prem Yadav with blunt instruments, killing him instantly.
When word of Yadav’s death circulated throughout the hamlet, a horde of his supporters stormed Dubey’s home and bludgeoned him and four other members of his family, namely Satya Prakash Dubey’s wife Kiran Devi (52), his son Dipesh (known as Gandhi, aged 15), and his daughters Saloni (17) and Nandini (10) to death. Anmol (8), one of the Dubey children, survived the assault and is currently receiving critical medical care in a local hospital.
The police said that Dubey’s family members tried to save themselves by locking the house from the inside but the frenzied mob broke the doors open, barged into the house, and killed them.
Incidentally, Dubey’s family is the only Brahmin family in the entire hamlet. Sarvesh Dubey, the 18-year-old son of Satya Prakash Dubey, who was out when the incident occurred, told the media, “It was my brother’s birthday. I didn’t know that this would happen. I went to the Katha and told him that I will give him whatever I get from it.”
“We ask the government that strict action must be taken against the culprits,” he added and broke down.
Satya Prakash Dubey’s son also alleged that Premchand Yadav came to their residence and threatened his father before proceeding to beat him. He further said that Premchand Yadav also misbehaved with his sister. He further said that his father was encircled by the mob before being assassinated. The older of Prem Yadav’s two surviving sons voiced his anguish and said that the mob murdered his father in front of everyone.
Premchand Yadav’s wife Sheela Yadav, meanwhile, stated that her husband had received a call on Monday morning after which he left alone in haste on his bike. “He was not aware that the Dubey family had assimilated a group of people in their house to attack him. He went all alone. The people at Dubey’s house attacked and killed him. When we received a call from there, I asked my father-in-law to go there but we don’t know what actually happened.”
The wife of the deceased Premchand Yadav further added that her family wishes death for the entire Dubey family.
Since the news of the incident was reported by the media, it has generated a lot of buzz on social media.
BJP Deoria MLA calls it a fight between the land mafia and a poor family
Amidst all the allegations and counter-allegations, Deoria MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi called the incident a retribution of a family tussle between the strong land mafia family of Premchand Yadav and a poor and destitute family of Satya Prakash Dubey. He also shared local newspaper clippings as proof of this.
ग्राउंड ज़ीरो से सैकड़ों मील दूर बैठे जो लोग देवरिया की घटना का आँकलन अपने अपने हिसाब से कर रहे, उनके लिए प्रस्तुत है स्थानीय अखबारो की ये खबरें,ये जंग भूमाफ़िया बनाम एक बेहद गरीब परिवार की है, लिहाज़ा इंसाफ की जंग हर हाल में लड़ी जाएगी !! pic.twitter.com/QWUMmDMcYT
— Dr. Shalabh Mani Tripathi (Office) (@Shalabhoffice) October 4, 2023
Legal cases add to the misery of Satya Prakash Dubey’s family
According to media reports, Satya Prakash Dubey’s family was financially weak. Satya Prakash Dubey used to drive a private vehicle to support his family. One of his daughters Shobita was married and the other one Saloni was teaching in a private school so that she could support her father in the family expenses. His older son Gandhi used to work in an electrical shop in Pakri Bazaar while the second son, Devesh, used to support the family by conducting pujas and religious functions in Deoria.
Satya Prakash Dubey’s house was in such disarray that even covering one’s head in the rain was difficult. The entire family practically resided in a shed. To make matters worse, Satya Prakash Dubey’s family was embroiled in numerous court proceedings and lawsuits.
Prem Yadav’s Samajwadi Party connection; allegations of being a land mafia
It was also reported in the local version of another newspaper that Prem Yadav had ties with the Samajwadi Party. Prem Yadav was frequently involved in land-related controversies. He utilized money and political influence to gain control of the land. He has been accused of forcing his way into purchasing several expensive lands at low prices. He had purchased three kathas of disputed land in the Rudrapur stretch, and the issue was currently being heard by the Gram Panchayat.
According to locals, Prem Yadav usurped the land of a government educational institute and Gram Sabha and built a posh building on it. He had acquired one acre of land in the village while serving as the District Panchayat member. A plot of land in the village is registered in the name of Manas Vidyalaya, however, it is owned by Prem Yadav. He also owns the land registered in the name of GS School and Barn. He used his political clout and influence to illegally acquire the forest department’s land, as well as the school and the one-acre land in the village.
It has also been alleged that Prem Yadav used to perpetrate these crimes with the help of Revenue Department officials. According to Ramashish Nishad, village head representative, despite multiple appeals to the Revenue Department, no action was taken to remove the illegal encroachment.
Locals also revealed that Prem Yadav’s mother was the village chief in Deoria’s Fatehpur village. Satya Prakash Dubey’s brother Gyan Prakash Dubey had no family, thus by providing him shelter, Prem Yadav gained his trust and usurped Gyan Prakash’s land and transferred it in his name.
It may be noted that in her complaint, Satya Prakash Dubey’s elder daughter, Shobita Dwivedi, had referenced a prior incident in 2014 when Prem Prakash Yadav allegedly kidnapped her uncle Gyan Prakash Dubey and forcibly made him transfer his agricultural land, subsequently leading to a protracted legal dispute.
In response to these allegations, BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi stated, “For those who are sitting hundreds of miles away from ground zero and are assessing the Deoria incident on their own, here are these local newspaper reports.” Because this is a battle between the land mafia and a very impoverished family, the fight for justice will be waged at whatever cost.”
The BJP MLA confirmed that he went to Satya Prakash Dubey’s house and met his son. He also learned about the incident from local villagers. He has assured cooperation to Satya Prakash Dubey’s bereaved family.
Samajwadi Party uses the incident to hit out at Yogi Govt
Leader of Opposition in UP Assembly and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav jumped to use the incident to gain political brownie points. Reacting sharply over the incident, the SP chief called for a high-level investigation into the murder, alleging the killings were a result of ‘governance failure’.
“The Deoria incident happened due to the failure of governance and negligence or involvement of the administration somewhere. I wish the Chief Minister’s expression of grief would bring back people’s lives. Only a high-level investigation can uncover the secrets of this murder and provide justice. This investigation should be done immediately,” wrote Yadav on X (formerly Twitter).
UP police files FIRs against 83 people, arrest 16 people
Late on Monday night, police registered cross-FIRs at the Rudrapur police station. The first FIR, filed by Dubey’s daughter, Shobhita Dwivedi (27), named 27 individuals and nearly 50 unidentified individuals in connection with her family’s killings. In a second FIR, Prem Prakash’s uncle accused Satya Prakash Dubey and four of his family members (who later died) of murdering his nephew.
Deoria SP Sankalp Sharma provided an update, stating, “All five persons booked for the murder of Prem Prakash are dead. So far, we have arrested 16 people for the murder of Satya Prakash and his family members. Of those arrested, 12 were named in the FIR, and the role of the remaining four came to light during the investigation.”
Police efforts are currently underway to locate the suspects.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath orders impartial probe into the Deoria incident
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, meanwhile, personally visited Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur on Tuesday, October 3 to meet eight-year-old Anmol Dubey, the sole survivor of the devastating attack on his family. The Chief Minister instructed hospital authorities to ensure that Anmol receives the best possible medical care.
Yogi Adityanath also ordered the State police to take the strictest action in the case. “The unfortunate incident in Deoria district is extremely sad and condemnable. My condolences are with the bereaved family. After reaching the spot, the Additional Director General (ADG)/Commissioner/ Inspector General (IG) has been instructed to take the strictest action and district administration officials have been instructed to provide proper treatment to the injured. The culprits of this incident will not be spared at any cost,” the CM said.
Senior police officer Prashant Kumar, meanwhile, said action would be taken against those who took the law into their hands. “A police force has been deployed and all senior officers are present,” he said.
