Lucknow: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suspended Hathras SP Vikrant Vir, three cops posted at Chanda Police station at the time of the incident Sadabad Circle officer Ram Shabd, SHO Dinesh Kumar Varma and SI Jagveer Singh along with Head Moharrir (Clerk) Mahesh Paul. UP CM took this action on the suggestions of SIT in its preliminary report, later in the Friday evening. Shamli SP Vineeth Jaiswal will take over as Hathras SP. The SIT also recommended that polygraph and narco tests to be conducted on everyone involved in the case police, the accused and members of the victims family.

The police stopped the entry of media and politicians for the second day in a row, the village in UP’s Hathras where 19- year old girl was allegedly gang raped before she died. Many who tried to enter and reach out to the bereaved family were manhandled, pushed to the ground and force off on Friday.

There is one main access point to the village and a tertiary route from behind farm lands leading upto a cluster of Dalit houses. Both had been barricaded, with six cops at one and fifteen at another route. Police stopped the visitors from entering the village at around 11 am, warning against “Moving any further” and saying they had strict instructions from higher authorities to not let any pass. Six cops including three women constables from Kasgang were stationed there, with several police and Government vehicles parked a few meters away.

A four member TMC team of MPs Derek O’ Brain, Kakoli Gosh, Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and ex MP Mamatha Thakur that approaching the village met similar resistance. Around noon, about 1.5 Kms from the village, O’ Brain was seen being pushed to the ground by Joint Magistrate Prem Prakash Meena in a video that went viral. “The country is unsafe for women. Their honour is in danger. We only wanted to meet the victim’s family”, said a TMC representative. Police put this down to a need for enabling investigation. Media entry has been banned so the SIT investigation is not hampered. Counter questioning is on, statements are being recorded.

We will allow entry only after the probe is over, said Hathras Additional SP. Politicians however, not be allowed because the law and order situation. They will only be let in after the administration things the situation is normal, said ADG, Agra Zone. The protest marches cut short, some political workers setup base at the barricades. AAP workers sat on a dharna. When police used mild force to remove them, they started singing the National Anthem.