Man shot, dies pleading for help by roadside after UP poll clash

A man injured in election-related violence in Uttar Pradesh’s
Allahabad district died begging for someone to take him to the hospital,
triggering bloody protests that wounded policemen.

A bullet pierced through Devendra Singh, 36, after violent
altercations rocked the block-level polls in Allahabad’s Bahadurpur
district on Wednesday.

One group of men alleged Phulpur Samajwadi Party MLA Sayeed Ahmad was
managing votes in favour of one candidate, and turned violent, despite
efforts from the police.

Singh fell on the road, bleeding profusely and calling for help. But
in the chaos, no official or resident–including the MLA–helped him.
His family members, too, couldn’t reach him in the melee.

Eyewitnesses said Singh–the son of a former head of a local
village–walked a few metres with the injury and requested many people
with bikes to drop him at the hospital. Two men tried to take him to
hospital but had to leave him by the roadside because he was bleeding. A
police van reached almost 30 minutes later and took him to a local
hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

His death sparked off violence with villagers resorted to stone
pelting and torching vehicles. They set a fire-tender ablaze and injured
several policemen.

Authorities deployed heavy force with district magistate Sanjay
Kumar, senior superintendent of police KS Emmanuel and other senior
officials rushing to the spot to control the situation.

Police registered a case against 20 people including SP MLAs Sayeed
Ahmad (Phulpur) and Prashant Singh (Handia) — along with over 1,000
unidentified people — and also arrested a man in connection with the
murder.

But despite the heavy police presence, announcement of the poll
results around 4pm triggered a second round of violence. Supporters of
one candidate resorted to arson after the result was declared in favour
of Prashant Singh’s brother Rajkumar Singh.

Two SUVs were set afire near the block office. The police opened fire
to bring the situation under control. MLA Prashant Singh took shelter
inside a house of his supporter and was later escorted by the police.
Circle officer, Daraganj, Ganesh Saha and several other personnel were
injured in the incident.

[ Photo: Devendra Singh clutches his heart after being shot at in Allahabad’s Bahadurpur district.
(TV grab) ]