UP doctor beaten to death over land dispute cremated after assurances from DM

Two days after a 53-year-old doctor was allegedly beaten to death here over a land dispute, his family members on Monday cremated him after the district magistrate gave assurances that they would look into their demands.

The family of the doctor had refused to cremate him, and made six demands, including that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should visit them.

After assurance by the administration to look into their demands, – job to the victim's wife, Rs 1 crore compensation, immediate arrest of the accused and bulldozing their property, and possession of the disputed land – the family cremated him at Dhopap Dham Ghat here in the presence of police force.

Ghanshyam Tripathi, who was posted in the Jaisinghpur Community Health Centre, died after allegedly being thrashed by a few people over a land dispute in the Kotwali area here on Saturday.

Following the decision of Tripathi's family to not cremate him, a huge police force was deployed near his house in Sakhauli Kalan village in the Lambhua tehsil.

A delegation of the Indian Medical Association also met District Magistrate Jasjeet Kaur and sought justice for the doctor's family.

During cremation a number of local leaders and officials of the administration were present.

Superintendent of Police Somen Barma had earlier said that the doctor had purchased a land parcel from Ajay Narayan Singh, the main accused in the murder case. ''The accused were demanding more money and were not giving the possession of the land to the doctor,'' Barma said.

However, the police did not share details about the size of the land and its cost.

Tripathi had purchased a land parcel located behind a Saraswati Shishu Mandir and there was ''commotion'' over it every day, according to the doctor's wife, Nisha Tripathi. On Saturday, she alleged that ''some people who live in Narayanpur'' killed her husband over a land dispute. She alleged that the son of Narayanpur resident Jagdish Narayan Singh assaulted her husband who died in a hospital during treatment.

On Sunday, District Magistrate Kaur convened a meeting on the matter. Kaur told reporters that Sadar SDM has been directed to find the land belonging to the accused and their family members. Instructions have also been given to the SDM to ascertain whether the land possessed by them is not an encroachment on gram sabha land or an illegal property.