PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/New Tehri
Nagina (UP) MP and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad met the family members of Ketan Lal who had been allegedly murdered on June 7 over an inter-caste friendship. Azad met his family members in Lal’s village of Dewal in the Pratapnagar block of Tehri district on Tuesday. Earlier, the police tried to stop him at Bhadrakali, Narendranagar bypass, asking him to limit the number of his supporters for the visit. He walked about three kilometres to Hindolakhal, after which the police allowed two vehicles to proceed. Meeting Lal’s parents and other family members, he sought details of the crime, reiterating his support for the victim’s family.
The victim’s father Dhanpal Lal, mother Rukma Devi, sisters and grandparents narrated details of the crime to Azad. He told them that he would make every possible effort to ensure the strictest punishment under the law to the accused. Strongly condemning the manner in which Lal was killed, he said that such incidents divide the society. The MP also had a talk with the police in a closed room to learn about the action taken so far in the case.
It will be recalled that Lal who belonged to a scheduled caste was allegedly killed by the family members of an upper caste girl whom he had befriended.
