In a horrific incident, a 50-year-old newspaper hawker was hacked to death with an axe in Kho Nagoriyan area in Jaipur early on Thursday morning after the hawker had asked the culprit to pay newspaper bills.
Reportedly, the murder has ignited huge protests in the area taking communal lines and the city police had to resort to a lathi charge in which two former MLAs, a photojournalist and the kin of the deceased were injured. Following the huge protest, SHO Kho Nagoriyan Virendra Singh was suspended late on Thursday night.
According to police, the incident took place on Thursday morning in Shankar Vikar colony of Kho Nagoriyan police station. The deceased identified as Mannu Vaishnav (45), who works as a newspaper hawker in the colony, went to the accused Rafiq Khan’s house to collect his payment of Rs.500.
When Vaishnav asked for his payment, Khan allegedly abused Vaishnav after which a verbal scuffle broke out between them. Further, the argument turned into a physical fight after which Khan lost his control and hacked Vaishnav to death with an axe in his home.
“The accused was hitting the hawker like a maniac. The victim was on his bike and fell off with the very first axe stroke,” said a local resident speaking to ToI.
Later, the locals caught and beat up Rafique, who was standing there after vandalising his own auto rickshaw in a fit of rage. Within a few minutes police reached the spot stopped the crowd who were beating the accused and arrested Rafique.
The police detain four more people for allegedly beating up along with the accused Khan. Further, a few people of the colony blocked roads, burnt tyres and started demanding acquittal of four people who were detained. Soon, Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) East Rahul Jain, DCP Jaipur commissioner’s office Kavendra Sagar, along with other police reached the spot in order to control the situation.
Deputy commissioner of police (Jaipur East) Rahul Jain said Rafique was taken to a hospital where he is undergoing treatment for critical injuries. The police said he would be arrested but his condition remained critical as he was beaten up by the locals. Some locals said the accused was mentally challenged. The police, however, said they were investigating whether the accused had a mental illness.
The FIR lodged by Vaishnav’s family alleged that Khan was accompanied by his family members during the attack. The attack was so severe that the handle of the axe came apart and fell on the road. The locals said that the accused kept gazing at Vaishanv’s body when he was caught.
The incident sparked off protests in the area. The police had to resort to lathi-charge in which two former BJP MLAs, Kailash Verma and Kanhaiyalal Meena, have been injured. The BJP leaders later staged a dharna and demanded the suspension of the SHO as well as compensation for the victim’s family.
Reportedly, the locals of the colony put up a tent in front of the police station demanding the release of the four detained person and compensation for the family members of the deceased. They also claimed that along with Khan a few more people were present there and demanded their arrest.
“Four detained persons have been released. We will put the demands of the family members in front of the government,” said police officer Jain. The situation in the area had remained tensed following the horrific incident.
