The Station House Officer (SHO) of a police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district has been suspended after a 21-year-old girl died after she was allegedly assaulted by policemen during a raid.

The police has denied the allegations, saying the woman appeared to have committed suicide.

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The alleged incident took place on Sunday evening when the police raided the house of gangster Kanhaiya Yadav in Manrajpur village to arrest him after a non-bailable warrant was issued.

Yadav had been accused in a case of illegal sand mining.

However, as the police officials could not find Yadav at his home, they allegedly tried to take his brother with them.

Yadav’s daughter, Nisha, tried to stop the police, following which she was allegedly beaten by the officers.

In a video widely shared on social media, a woman could be seen saying that her elder sister was killed by the police. On being asked if she had also been beaten up, the woman replied in the affirmative.

District Magistrate of Chandauli, Sanjeev Singh told reporters: “Nisha, daughter of gangster Kanhaiya Yadav was found dead in her house. The deceased was allegedly thrashed by the station house officer (SHO) of Saiyyedraja police station after which she died.”

Singh said that Yadav’s younger daughter was also allegedly beaten and has suffered serious injuries. She has been admitted to a local hospital for treatment.

“The SHO has been suspended and the process is underway to lodge an FIR after getting a complaint from the family of the deceased,” Singh added.

Ankur Agarwal, Chandauli Superintendent of Police, said: “The police raid party, which had women constables as well, went to look for Kanhaiya Yadav and did not find the accused at his home and so they left. Prima facie it appears that the death is due to some domestic issue or suicide, we are awaiting the post-mortem report.”

The incident led to violent protests on Sunday night in the district.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has demanded that a case of murder should be registered against the guilty policeman.

“Police has become killer in UP,” Akhilesh Yadav wrote in a tweet. “Innocent civilians are being killed continuously by the BJP government.”