UP police officer was beaten, dragged before being shot

Lucknow: Senior police officer Zia-ul-Haq was beaten and dragged along the ground before being shot dead, the Uttar Pradesh police said today. He had severe injuries on his legs and head.

The savage contours of the attack on the police officer scale up the embarrassment for Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. A minister in his government, Raja Bhaiya, already wanted in eight different criminal cases, resigned last week after he was accused of ordering the police officer's murder in his constituency of Kunda. The police case charges him with conspiracy.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Zia-ul-Haq was killed on Saturday night when he arrived in a village in Kunda to investigate the murder of the village headman or pradhan and his brother, who had been killed over a land dispute.

The bullet used to kill the policeman is missing. It's not clear if he was shot with his own revolver, which has also not been found.

The post-mortem report reveals that his body was marked by "lacerated wounds and abrasions" and that he died of "hemorrhage and shock" from a gunshot wound to the right of his chest.

The Chief Minister has said the CBI will investigate the case and professed this evening that "Anyone involved in the conspiracy will not be spared."

But that did not stop angry jeers when he arrived at Kunda to visit the family of Nanhe Yadav, the pradhan who was killed.

The Uttar Pradesh government has not been able to explain why Raja Bhaiya, whose real name is Raghuraj Pratap Singh, has not been interrogated or arrested so far. The police has said that before it investigates the conspiracy charges, it needs to arrest and question those who shot Zia-ul-Haq.