Protest erupts in Pauri as family & locals demand justice in Jitendra Kumar suicide case

PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun 

Family members the deceased Jitendra Kumar, supporters of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) and local residents in Pauri staged a protest on Friday and raised demands for the arrest of all those who allegedly pushed Kumar into committing suicide. The family has claimed that multiple people are responsible for Kumar’s suicide.

The family initially did not allow cremation of Kumar’s body in Pauri. Before the cremation, residents and relatives gathered near the ghat and stopped the last rites. The crowd then moved to Bilkedar–Srinagar motor road, where they staged a protest and raised demands for the arrest of the main accused Himanshu Chamoli and others named in the case. They refused to proceed with the cremation until police took further action in the case.

Later, the family members, supporters of UKD and local residents blocked traffic on the Rishikesh–Badrinath national highway at the Kirtinagar bridge. The blockade continued as the protesters sat on the road and pressed their demands till late evening. Tehri and Pauri police reached the spot to maintain order. Meanwhile, the officials have stated that Chamoli has already been arrested in the case and further investigation is in progress. People also raised slogan against Bharatiya Janata Party in Pauri as Chamoli was an office bearer in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) who was removed from his position after the suicide video of Kumar went viral on Thursday.

However, the BJP State head Mahendra Bhatt said that BJP has taken action at its level against Chamoli and the police will take further action legally as per the investigation.