Azamgarh: Organisations hit the streets demanding justice for slain couple

The unsolved murder of Inderpal Maurya and his wife Shakuntala Maurya is in limelight again. The family of the deceased which include their children and other family members are sitting on a dharna for the last 25 days demanding the arrest of the accused who belong to the upper caste. Some of the accused were arrested but the main accused is still roaming free.

The gruesome murder that shook the city

As per the information, Indrapal Maurya and his wife Shakuntala Maurya were found murdered on 16^th June 2022 near Janta Inter College Ambari.

The grieving family was visited by Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya and BSP MP Sangeeta Azad some days after the murder took place to placate the family. Deputy CM had assured the family of swift justice and the SDM had announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh in his presence.

Refuting the claims that the dependent of the murdered couple have received the compensation Shivansh Maurya, the deceased couple's son said: "We are struggling to make the ends meet and it has been published in the media that we have received the compensation". He also demanded the immediate arrest of the accused.

Several organizations joined forces to demand justice for the family. The organizations included Bhim Army and its political wing the Azad Samaj party, Janadhikar Party, the Social organization Prayas, Bahujan Mukti Morcha, Rihai Manch, etc. The protestors took out a march and raised slogans in front of the DM Office at Azamgarh City Headquarters.

Speaking to The Mooknayak Atul Kirti Anand, the District President of Azad Samaj Party said "We are demanding 2 crores as compensation for the orphaned children so that they are able to manage their education and livelihood, apart from the arrest of the accused. But it is very discouraging to see that instead of arresting the culprit, the police are trying to frame the relatives of the deceased".

Attacking the police for its apathy, Rajeev Yadav, a Social worker and the general secretary of Rihai Manch said " the police are shielding the accused who belonged to the dominant castes, it is in contrast to the alacrity of the police when the accused belongs to any downtrodden section or the minority, in such a scenario- not only are the accused arrested but their property is also bulldozed without any investigation."