Police baton charge Kanpur protesters, 10 hurt

LUCKNOW - At least 10 people were injured when police resorted to baton charge after locals in Uttar Pradeshs Kanpur district Wednesday staged demonstrations demanding closure of a school where one student recently died after alleged sexual assault.

Locals alleged that someone among the Bharatiya Gyan Sthali school staff raped the 12-year-old student, who later died on her way to the hospital Sep 27. Since then the school has remained closed.

As the school re-opened Wednesday, a large number of people, including members of political parties, lawyers and women activists assembled in front of the school and held demonstrations.

As they refused to end the protests, police resorted to baton charge in order to disperse them.

Locals claimed that at least 10 people were injured, but Superintendent of Police (Rural) Lal Bahadur said no one was injured seriously.

We tried to prevent the protesters from being unruly,” Bahadur told reporters in Kanpur, some 80 km from Lucknow.

Locals alleged police were protecting the real culprits associated with the school. Police arrested one man, Munna, Oct 6 terming him the main culprit in the rape case.

However, locals and the victim’s mother Sonu Bhadoria claimed that Munna was not linked with the case.

Police are trying to shield the real culprits. I want an impartial probe into the case,” Bhadoria told reporters in Kanpur.

Meanwhile, the deputy inspector general (DIG) of Kanpur police, Prem Prakash, said if Bhadoria and her family were not satisfied, the investigations would be handed over to other police personnel.