Four dead in Meerut, several cops hurt

MEERUT: At least four persons died and scores of others, including several security personnel, were injured in violence which erupted Friday afternoon as hundreds of protestors in city’s minority-dominated areas rained stones at police and RAF teams and ransacked public properties. The vandals, mostly youths under the age of 30 years, had a free run for several hours before the security personnel pushed them back after a pitched battle.
Four persons were killed by Friday night in the city, allegedly due to bullet injuries, and several protesters and security personnel were in the hospitals nursing serious injuries.
Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (LLRM) Medical College confirmed the four deaths. Three of the dead there were from Meerut while the other was brought from Muzaffarnagar. Six injured, including policemen and protesters, were also under observation at the government hospital. Harshvardhan Rajput, emergency medical officer at the hospital, said, “As many as 10 persons were brought LLRM Medical College. Three of them were brought dead. They included two from Meerut -- Zaheer (40) and Mohsin (25). One was a referral case from Muzaffarnagar, Noor Mohammad (25). While another injured, Aasif, died later. ”
Four other protesters and three security personnel-- VD Shukla and Anuj Kumar of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and police officer Ankit Rathi-- were also recuperating at the medical college. “All the injured had gun shots,” Rajput confirmed.
The fourth man to die due to bullet shot in Meerut was Asif, a resident of Delhi’s Jhilmil colony. He died at Anand hospital. “Another injured youth was in critical condition,” said Munish Pandit, manager of the hospital said.
The violence which began after Friday prayers at Lisari Gate and Hapur road area soon escalated and spread. Towards the evening, the retreating mob attacked Islamabad police outpost and torched several vehicles kept there. But the situation was controlled by Friday night, police said.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Meerut Ajay Sahni said, “The situation has been brought under control. Additional police force has been deployed at all the sensitive spots. A retreating mob torched vehicles at a police outpost. 12 people have been arrested and more will follow. We are in the process of identifying the rioters and strict action will be taken against them.”