4 more murders in Mathura; minister admits laxity

Meanwhile, four more murders, two under the highway police station area and one each in Govardhan and Raya areas, in the past 24 hours were reported in the district.

Sharma had to face angry protests from family and friends of Vikas Agarwal when he visited them to mourn the jeweller’s death on Wednesday. Blaming the BJP government for the poor law and order situation, they said such incidents were never reported in Mathura earlier. The protesters also condemned the police for being “clueless” about the people behind the brutal crime even after three days of the incident.

Uttar Pradesh director general of police Sulkhan Singh, who was also present during the meeting, assured the victims’ families that strict action would be taken against those cops who were found to be negligent. He also said that the culprits behind the crime would be arrested soon. He said the police would go all out to restore the confidence of the people, which he admitted had been shaken by this incident.

Later while speaking with reporters, Sharma said that he came to Mathura as a representative of the CM and his main concern was to make the Braj region crime-free. He said more CCTV cameras would be installed and security increased, wherever required. Meanwhile, opposition blamed the Yogi government for being unable to control spiraling crime in the state. Former Mathura MLA and senior Congress leader Pradeep Mathur said that chief minister Yogi Adityanath should stop preaching like a saint and should become a good administrator if he wants to control crime.