VARANASI: The main defendant who escapes in the Ballia cooking case, Dhirendra Pratap Singh, posted a video on social media on Saturday stating that he did not open fire as alleged by rivals and police and that he had fled for fear of a threat to his life.
Meanwhile, the police threw a security blanket around the district court to thwart his offer to surrender after a close associate of Dhirendra filed a surrender request.
In the video, allegedly recorded on Friday, Dhirendra claimed he was innocent. He said he had warned officials about poor practices in allocating stores at fair prices and the threat of violence, but they ignored it.
He further stated that when the shooting began at the scene, he was standing before Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) Suresh Chandra Pal and Circle Officer Chandrakesh Singh.
He further claimed that police officers caught him while his family members were being beaten amid indiscriminate shooting by his rivals. Dhirendra claimed that he was captured by the CO, but escaped fearing a threat to his life.
He also accused the district administration and the police of taking unilateral action against him and destroying his hard-earned property.
TOI was unable to immediately verify the veracity of the video that went viral after being posted by Dhirendra, even when the police pursued him to arrest him from the murder of a Jaiprakash Pal by shooting during the allocation of fair price shops in the village of Durjanpur in the area of Reoti Police Station. from District.
Meanwhile, an audio clip of a conversation between the main defendant and the local supply inspector. Durga Yadav It also went viral on social media. In this clip, Dhirendra is heard threatening Yadav and hurling expletives.
In the unverified clip, he is heard asking Yadav why the previous allocation of fair price stores was not canceled despite repeated calls from ‘Vidhayakji’ (MLA) to this effect.
When Yadav asks Dhirendra to speak to SDM about this, he challenges him to go to his village and throws a volley of expletives at him.
SP Ballia Devendra Nath admitted that a large police force was deployed in and around the district court complex to thwart the offer to surrender.
“Late Friday night, one more defendant, a cousin of Dhirendra, was arrested. So far, seven defendants, including two named, who are Dhirendra’s first cousins, have been arrested. I announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000, while the DIG Azamgarh range announced a Rs 50,000 reward in Dhirendra. Massive raids are taking place to arrest Dhirendra, ”said the SP.
Further, Bjp Bairia MLA Surendra Singh accused local administration officials and police of initiating unilateral action and keeping the prime minister Yogi Adityanath Misinformed.
The Bairia MLA went to the district hospital to meet Dhirendra’s injured family members who were in treatment and cried in front of the media and people.
Accusing administration and police officials of being biased against Dhirendra and her family, the MLA said: “There has not even been a medical examination of Dhirendra’s injured relatives despite their being admitted to hospital after being injured in the attack of rivals. Dhirendra’s rivals gave themselves up to fight and opened fire, but the officers have misinformed the CM and are taking unilateral action. ”
“I am not asking you to forgive Dhirendra, but his rivals should also be prosecuted for their crime,” he added.
A group of ex-military men also came in support of Dhirendra and held a demonstration under the banner of Purva-Sainik (ex-military) Sangathan demanding FIR against their rivals led by the Durjanpur village chief, Krishna Yadav.
Sangathan state official Ramesh Singh said Yadav and his supporters had started fighting and opened fire in a planned manner, but that the administration only targeted Dhirendra, who is a former military man. They threatened Revati’s police station with gherao and intensify their commotion if FIR does not show up against Dhirendra’s rivals.
In video: Ballia’s dismissal case: the main defendant abuses the inspector, the audio goes viral
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