LUCKNOW: The state government on Sunday removed Hathras superintendent of police Vikas Vaidya after six kanwariyas were mowed down by a truck on Saturday. Commandant of Mirzapur Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Devesh Pandey, was made the new district police chief of Hathras.
Senior police officials attributed the removal of the SP for failing to control the situation.
The accident happened despite Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath having instructed district administrative officials and police to gear up for swiftly conducting Kanwar Yatra earlier in the week and had also directed for diversion of traffic routes keeping in view the number of devotees on travel routes.
A home official said that there is constant monitoring of the law and order situation across the state.
In the last one week, Kannauj police chief Rajesh Srivastava and DCP, South Zone, Gopal Krishan Choudhary, in Lucknow Commissionerate were removed over failure to maintain law and order.
On July 16-17, an attempt was made in Kannauj to disturb communal peace by throwing the severed head of a calf inside a Shiva temple in Talgram police station area of the district. Later, locals had set fire to three kiosks and carried out protests at several places. Following this, SP Rajesh Srivastava and district magistrate Rakesh Mishra were removed.
Likewise, in Lucknow, last week a controversy erupted over youths offering ‘namaz’ inside Lulu mall, following which, members of the right-wing outfits staged protests.
The police were pulled up by CM Yogi Adityanath for failure to control the situation. Later, DCP, South, Gopal Krishan Choudhary was shifted and arrests were made in the case.
