2 Rajasthan villagers jump into river to escape police raid in Dholpur, drown
Police said two police personnel have been transferred to the Dholpur district police lines and a special team set up to probe the incident
BHARATPUR: Two men in their mid-thirties jumped into a river on Sunday to escape a police team that tried to arrest them for gambling in Rajasthan’s Dholpur district and drowned, a senior district police officer said on Monday.
The deaths angered residents of Kulua Ka Pura village who staged a day-long protest against the police. The protest ended late on Sunday evening after the police promised a full-fledged inquiry and transferred two policemen to the district police lines.
A special team has been set up to investigate the incident, officials said.
The two dead men were identified by the police as Shatrudhan Gurjar,35, and Atar Singh Kushwaha, 36.
Dholpur superintendent of police (SP) Sumit Meherada said the three men had escaped from a spot where the police conducted a raid in connection with a tip-off about gambling and jumped into Parvati river.
A woman who spotted them was able to rescue one of the three. The other two drowned and their bodies were pulled out of the river by local divers, Meherada added.
Angry relatives of the deceased and villagers staged a protest over the deaths and blocked Dholpur-Bharatpur national highway-123, accusing the police personnel of high-handedness.
Family members of the deceased alleged police to attack family members and villagers.
Congress legislator (Dholpur) Shobharani Kushwaha, and Bahujan Samaj Party legislator (Bari) Jaswant Singh Gurjar assured the villagers of an transparent investigation into the police action and convinced them to accept the bodies of the two men.
Kushwaha said this was a shocking incident and the district police authorities had agreed to transfer out two police personnel.
“We will seek compensation from the government for the victim’s families, Kushwaha said.
Dholpur district collector Shrinidhi BT said the bodies were handed over to family members after autopsy around Sunday midnight and two police personnel have been sent to the district police lines pending inquiry.
The district administration has also recommended to the state government to release ex-gratia assistance for the family of the deceased.
