UP police hide immolation bid of man during loan recovery, SHO among 3 cops suspended

Bijnor: Three police personnel, including an SHO, were suspended in Amroha on Saturday after the trio allegedly tried to suppress a case related to immolation bid of a man during loan recovery process at the district’s Panju Sarai village.

According to investigators, a joint team of bank representatives, revenue officials, including naib tehsildar, and cops had gone to the village on May 14 to take possession of a house linked to a loan of Rs 15 lakh taken by Ashok Prajapati from a bank in 2019.

During the payment recovery, Prajapati, a vegetable vendor, allegedly poured a flammable substance on himself and set himself on fire, suffering serious burn injuries. He was quickly taken to district hospital in a critical condition and later shifted to a medical facility in Delhi.

Prajapati’s family alleged that officials arrived at their home without prior notice and accused them of harassment, which led to a heated confrontation and the self-immolation bid.

Police headquarters, however, later found that officers present at the spot failed to inform seniors and attempted to hide the incident.

Terming it a “serious lapse in duty”, Amroha SP Lakhan Singh Yadav ordered suspension of SHO (Naugawan Sadat) Balendra Kumar, Mundakhera outpost in-charge Pravindra Kumar and beat constable Hemant Kumar with “immediate effect”.