Uttarakhand: Standoff ends over Dalit teen's death in Tehri Garhwal, final rites performed

New Tehri (Uttarakhand), Jun 10 (PTI): The final rites of 18-year-old Ketan Lal were performed at the Koti Colony Ghat here on Wednesday, a day after his post-mortem examination was conducted at the Baurari District Hospital, Uttarakhand. The family of the deceased, who belongs to the Dalit community, has demanded the death penalty for those responsible for his murder. The family members took possession of the body from the hospital following assurances of support from the state government. The victim, a resident of Deval village, was allegedly friends with a girl from Pratapgarh Block’s Kholgarh for the past six months. The victim's family alleged that the girl called Ketan to her house on June 7, where a group of people, including Yashveer Singh Panwar, locked him and his friend, Diwakar Dimri, in a room and assaulted them through the night with sticks. Ketan died of his injuries on June 8 while being taken to the hospital. A panel of doctors conducted the post-mortem examination under videography on Tuesday. Following the autopsy, the family of the victim and local villagers refused to perform the final rites. They demanded strict punishment for the accused, police protection for the family, financial compensation of Rs 1 crore, and a government job for a family member. The standoff ended on Wednesday following a dialogue involving Additional Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar, Circle Officer Chandramohan Singh, Kotwal Aishwaryapal and local public representatives. The officials assured the family that their memorandum of demands had been forwarded to the state government. They also informed the family that two of the accused persons had been sent to judicial custody, while several others were taken into custody. Uttarakhand Social Welfare Minister Khajan Das, Ghansali MLA Shakti Lal Shah, and State Scheduled Castes Commission Chairman Mukesh Kumar also spoke to the father of the victim, Dhanpal Lal, over the phone and assured him of government support. Following these assurances, the family took possession of the body from the hospital, and the cremation took place at Koti Colony. Minister Khajan Das termed the incident unfortunate and condemnable, saying that such incidents in the hill region are unacceptable and the government stands in full solidarity with the aggrieved family. He added that instructions have been issued to the police to ensure strict punishment for the culprits, promising that no accused would escape the law. He also assured that the Social Welfare Department would extend all possible assistance to the family. Senior Superintendent of Police Shweta Choubey assured that the investigation into the murder is being conducted in an impartial, transparent, and scientific manner. She said that based on the evidence collected, technical facts, and interrogation, the involvement of the two named accused was established, and they have been arrested and sent to judicial custody. On Wednesday, a specialised forensic team conducted a detailed inspection of the crime scene in Kholgarh village to gather necessary scientific evidence to strengthen the case. The SSP assured that further legal action would proceed impartially based on the evidence that emerges during the investigation. Several political leaders and social activists visited the Baurari District Hospital to offer their condolences to the victim's family. PTI COR AKY AKY MPL MPL(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)