BSP chief Mayawati condemned the burning of Dalit man in UP, calls it "very cruel".
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati today demanded exemplary punishment for those who burnt a 20-year-old Dalit man alive in Uttar Pradesh allegedly over his relationship with a woman from another caste.
"To burn a Dalit youth alive in the name of caste over love affair in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh is very cruel and extremely condemnable. The BSP demands that the government should immediately punish those behind it so that no such incident takes place in the state again," the BSP chief tweeted.
The man, Abhishek, was set on fire on September 15 after the woman he was in a relationship with called him at her home, the police said.
"Abhishek alias Monu was in a relationship with a woman who used to live in Bhadaicha village. The man was found in a suspicious state from the woman's home," K Gyananjay Singh, senior police officer of East Hardoi, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"Abhishek's relatives filed a complaint and alleged that five people set him on fire. We have registered the FIR. Three people have been arrested and two are on the run," he said.
Two other accused named in the FIR are from the woman's village, the police said.
"Abhishek was admitted in the district hospital in Hardoi. Later, he was referred to the trauma centre in Lucknow but died on his way to the centre," the police officer said.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the incident yesterday saying the social fabric of the state is being attacked to achieve political objectives.
"Under the BJP rule, another Dalit has been burnt alive - inhuman and shameful," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi.
"In order to achieve political objectives in Uttar Pradesh, the social fabric is being attacked," Mr Surjewala added.
(With inputs from ANI)