Violent Confrontation in Gorakhpur: Villagers Attack Police Van Following Dispute-Related Death

A video displays at least 10 individuals striking the police van with sticks and hurling stones at it.

Gorakhpur:

Villagers in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, frustrated by the lack of a case registration against an alleged murderer, surrounded a police vehicle, pelted it with stones, and attacked it with sticks. Several police personnel inside the van sustained injuries, including one officer who was struck on the head with large stones multiple times.

The footage shows approximately 10 people, including women, battering the van's sides with sticks and throwing stones. While they were unable to significantly damage the rear of the vehicle, which was protected by grilles, the front passenger window was completely shattered. A helmet-wearing police officer driving the van can be seen taking blows to the head.

According to officials, Hanuman Chauhan, 35, a resident of Jawahar Chak village, had an altercation with fellow villagers, including one Roshan Chauhan, on October 4 regarding a Durga Puja pandal. Roshan and several others attacked Hanuman, causing him serious head injuries.

Hanuman subsequently died from these injuries, prompting villagers to block the Gorakhpur-Varanasi and Gorakhpur-Lucknow roads on Tuesday. They placed his body at the Nausadh intersection in Gorakhpur, demanding legal action against Roshan and employment for a member of Hanuman's family.

Following the attack on the police van, senior officials managed to calm the villagers, and Hanuman's body was cremated later that day. An investigation into the attack is ongoing.