The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Inspector General of Police, Meerut to ensure protection of the witnesses in the Hapur lynching case where one person was killed while the other was brutally assaulted by a mob.
On June 18, a 45-year-old meat-trader, Qasim Qureishi was lynched by a furious mob in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur city, on false information of being a ‘cow thief’. Later, a 65-year-old, Samiyuddin was attacked by mobsters who was coerced into confessing that he was a “cattle smuggler”.
Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing for August 28, giving the police officials 14 days time to file a report. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also issued a notice to Uttar Pradesh government on the plea filed by Samiyuddin, seeking an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter.