MEERUT: A week after the mysterious death of Bhim Army district president’s brother Sachin Walia that almost pushed Saharanpur to the brink of caste violence, police on Tuesday claimed to have worked out the case and arrested an associate of the deceased who “accidentally fired at Sachin leading to his immediate death”.Earlier, family members had alleged that Sachin, brother of Kamal Walia , had been killed by Thakurs who were celebrating Maharana Pratap Jayanti just 500 metres from the Walias’ home in Ramnagar Colony on May 9.The incident had become all the more explosive as it occurred on the first anniversary of Dalit-police clashes in Saharanpur that witnessed large-scale violence and arson on the streets of the city.Deputy inspector-general (DIG) of Saharanpur, Sharad Sachan said, “On the morning of May 9, Praveen Singh, 30, an associate of Bhim Army district president Kamal Walia got a call from Sachin to arrive at the house of another friend of theirs, Nihal Singh, also a resident of Ramnagar colony. When Praveen reached Nihal’s house, seven other associates were already present. There were two countrymade firearms there which were being examined by the group. While Praveen was examining one of the weapons in his hands, he accidentally pulled the trigger without realising it was loaded. The bullet hit Sachin near his mouth.”According to police sources, the men rushed Sachin to the hospital and when police intercepted them on the way, they said he had fallen from the roof of the house.On reaching the district hospital, Sachin was declared brought dead by the doctors. Superintendent of police (SP) city and investigative officer Prabal Pratap Singh said, “Police have arrested Praveen and recovered the weapon along with the spent cartridge.”When asked about the motive of assembling of these men under one roof, Singh said, "They were getting ready to confront the opposite party in case anything untoward occurred."Earlier, Sachin Walia’s mother Kanti Devi had filed an FIR against four members of the upper caste including Sher Singh Rana , convict in Phoolan Devi’s murder and a prominent Thakur leader. However, investigations revealed that all those named in the FIR were not involved in the death of Sachin.Kamal Walia said he was satisfied with the investigations but still held district administration and police responsible for the loss of his brother.“I am satisfied with the outcome of the investigations and the guilty, irrespective of caste, must be booked for the crime. But I still feel that had police and district administration not given permission to celebrate Maharana Pratap Jayanti, my brother would have been alive.”Praveen has been booked under relevant sections of Arms Act. Regarding accidental fire, the charges are yet to be framed, police said.

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