Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 9 Apr: Former chairman of the Uttarakhand Rajya Nirman Andolankari Parishad and senior BJP leader Ravindra Jugran has stated that a long-pending demand of statehood agitationists and the people of Mussoorie has effectively already been fulfilled by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The incident dates back to the period when the region was part of Uttar Pradesh.
Jugran shared with the media that during the Uttarakhand statehood agitation, on 2 September, 1994, in the Mussoorie firing incident, then DSP Umakant Tripathi had lost his life after being hit by the police firing. On the same day, seven persons from Mussoorie, including Hansa Dhanai and Belmati Chauhan, were also martyred in the police firing. He said that for the past one and a half decades, the statehood agitationists and the local public had been demanding that DSP Umakant Tripathi also be accorded the status of a martyr.
He further stated that, around six months ago, he had submitted a representation to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami seeking that DSP Umakant Tripathi be declared a martyr. Acting on the representation, the CM had forwarded the matter to the Home Secretary with directions for necessary action, following which the matter was referred to the police headquarters.
During the course of inquiry, the police headquarters had sought information from the Uttar Pradesh government and the Government of India. It subsequently came to light that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had already recognised Umakant Tripathi as a martyr earlier.
Expressing satisfaction over the development, Jugran said that Tripathi had died in the line of duty and that it was a matter of great relief and happiness to learn that he has already been accorded martyr status.
