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Mayawati rushes to scene of Dalits’ killing

LUCKNOW: In a move to pre-empt Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi from scoring a political point over the tragic killing of five Dalits in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati visited Aminabad village, the scene of the massacre, late on Friday evening, cracked the whip on erring police officers and announced a couple of humanitarian measures for four children who survived the fatal assault. Mr. Gandhi is scheduled to visit the village on Saturday.

An official spokesman told The Hindu that the Chief Minister ordered suspension of the Station House Officer of the Ekdil police station in Etawah district and admonished the SSP of Etawah, S. R. S. Aditya and I-G of Kanpur, S. N. Singh. Ms. Mayawati warned the district police chiefs and the zonal I-G that in the event of a recurrence of such crimes strict action would be taken against them.

Ms. Mayawati announced that agricultural land would be given to the next of the kin of the deceased and the Government would bear the cost of education and marriage of the four kids and one of their relatives, who escaped the killings, the spokesman added.

Mr. Gandhi’s visit to the village on Saturday would coincide with the 74th birth anniversary of Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram, in whose memory several programmes are lined up in Lucknow and elsewhere in the State during the day.

Ms. Mayawati had already announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh to the kin of the deceased on receiving the news of the multiple killings on Thursday. The announcement of the planned visit of the Congress Member of Parliament from Amethi to Aminabad village under the Ekdilpur police station area in Etawah was made on Friday morning. Later in the day, it was followed by the announcement of the Chief Minister’s visit to the village on Friday itself.

The Chief Minister flew to the village by helicopter en route to Kanpur after receiving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is on a two-day visit to Varanasi.

Dr. Singh is scheduled to address the 90th Convocation of Banaras Hindu University on Saturday.

Five members of a Dalit family were shot dead in Aminabad village late on Wednesday night. Police suspected that the killings were the fallout of a dispute over a small piece of land. Among those killed were Vishram Singh, his wife Rajni, son and daughter-in-law, Arjun and Rajni, and Rinku, who had come to appear at High School examinations.

The FIR lodged at the Ekdil police station named one Hom Singh, also a Dalit and a native of the same village, and six unidentified persons.

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Mayawati rushes to scene of Dalits’ killing

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