News Brief
Nishtha Anushree
Aug 30, 2023, 01:01 PM | Updated 01:01 PM IST
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In Prayagraj, a 10th-grade student Satyam Sharma was brutally beaten to death by Muslim youths for opposing harassment of his sister. The assailants cornered him on the road and beat him relentlessly with a stick.
He struggled in agony for about half an hour on the road. His sister, lying on the ground nearby, pleaded with everyone to save him, but people watched as mere spectators.
No one gathered the courage to intervene and stop the attackers. After a short while, Satyam's breathing ceased. The incident occurred on Monday (28 August) afternoon at Khiri Chowk.
The incident led to widespread outrage and protests. Following the massive protests, the police apprehended all five accused of the murder. Three of the accused are said to be minors.
Additionally, in response to the negligence, the Senior Superintendent of Police suspended Station Officer Navin Kumar Singh and the Sub-Inspector, Dainik Bhaskar reported.
The police have not yet disclosed the names of the attackers but two names are disclosed in the media including the head of the Khiri village council, Mohammad Yusuf and one Mohsin.
Seeing the incident taking a communal turn, the police from various stations and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) were summoned to the scene. People protesting demanded bulldozing the homes of all the accused and performing the last rites for the deceased student at the accused's homes.
However, Prayagraj Police carried out the funeral ceremonies for Satyam on Tuesday night. These ceremonies were conducted amidst protests from the student's relatives and villagers who insisted on receiving the student's body in Khiri village.
The police decided to conduct the final rites of the student due to the significant unrest observed in the locality. Only a handful of the student's family members were in attendance for the final rituals, with additional police personnel stationed at the site to ensure security.
The crowd even attacked an ambulance on the road and vandalized it. The Khiri police station was surrounded, and attempts were made to break the main gate of the station. Stones were thrown as well, and a few police personnel were injured during the attack.
The victim Satyam Sharma is 16 years old. He resided in Puradaloo village and was a student at Sri Parmanand Smarak Inter College along with his sister.
His sister said, "As we reached Turkpurwa Mohalla after school, students from the minority community in both our village and school surrounded us and grabbed my brother's hand. They started pulling us."
The victim's sister recounted, "When I screamed, my brother Satyam confronted the students from the minority community. After that, all the assailants targeted Satyam. They kept beating him with a stick until he fell to the ground. He was bleeding profusely. I kept screaming, but nobody came forward to help. The attackers fled while issuing threats."
According to the girl, Satyam lay bleeding on the road, and she stood helplessly, screaming for help. Eventually, after some time, her family arrived at the scene. They rushed Satyam to the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital in Prayagraj, where doctors declared him dead.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.