Kasganj violence | If chanting 'Bharat Mata ki jai' is a crime, shoot me too, says victim's mother

The father of 22-year-old Chandan Gupta who was killed in clashes following pelting of stones on a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate Republic Day in Kasganj city of Western Uttar Pradesh, alleged that his son was killed for refusing to say 'Pakistan Zindabad'.

The clashes happened after stones were reportedly pelted on the motorcycle rally taken out by VHP and ABPV volunteers as part of celebrations on the 69th Republic Day.

However, Shushil Gupta, father of Chandan Gupta alleged that his son was shot dead for refusing to say 'Pakistan Zindabad'.

Chandan's father who works in a private hospital told Navbharat Times, "My son was stopped and asked to say 'Pakistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad'. When Chandan refused, he was shot dead."  Chandan's father said my son died while chanting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. 

Gupta said that his son was a student of B.Com and was also running a private organization named Sankalp which was involved in social activities.

"If saying Hindustan zindabad...'Bharat Mata ki jai'... even after staying in the country is a crime, then shoot us too," said Chandan's mother Sangeeta Gupta.

The local administration has arrested 53 people for rioting and damaging public and private properties, besides imposing a curfew in the district. The authorities have shut down the Internet, and schools and colleges in the area as precautionary measures. 

On Saturday, in a fresh violence, miscreants damaged at least three shops and torched a few other commercial establishments. A bus was also set on fire in the latest flare-up in the city, where a curfew was imposed yesterday after the clashes.

A strong posse of RAF and PAC personnel have intensified vigil in the district, whose borders have been sealed to stop elements detrimental to peace from sneaking into the city.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had condoled the loss of life and told the police to sternly deal with the culprits.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya described the violence as unfortunate, and said the people behind it would not go unpunished.

The state police said that a complaint has been registered at the Kasganj police station and a special team has been formed to arrest others involved in the violence.