Retired Army officer thrashed to death in Amethi

A 64-year-old retired Army captain was beaten to death by unidentified assailants in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district, police said on Sunday.

Reacting strongly, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the BJP government in the state alleging that it was not able to curb rising crimes.

The incident occurred on Saturday night in Godiyan ka Purva village under Kamrauli Police Station limits, they said.

The retired Army personnel, Amanullah, and his wife were in their house when a group of people attacked them with sticks, his son told the police.

Amanuallah's wife told police that some people were trying to steal from a shop adjoining their house and when her husband objected and warned the perpetrators that he will inform police, they entered the house and beat him up, ASP Dayaram said.

She also said the attackers tried to strangle him, the ASP said.

The attackers thrashed Amanullah across the head due to which he died on the spot, his son said in his statement.

He said no family member other than his parents were in the house when the incident took place.

The body has been sent for post-mortem and further investigation is underway, Dayaram said.

In a tweet, Priyanka Gandhi asked if the Yogi Adityanath government in the state would continue to cover up incidents of crime or will find a solution to the problem.

"The law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh is not in the control of the state government. While crimes are on the rise, the state government is busy covering them up," she tweeted in Hindi.

"This is an incident in my home Amethi. Will the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh find a solution to this problem or will it continue to sleep and cover up," she said.

The Amethi Lok Sabha constituency was a pocket borough of the Congress party for many years. However, in the 2019 general election, BJP leader Smriti Irani defeated Priyanka Gandhi's brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a considerable margin.