45-yr-old man beaten, stabbed to death

LUCKNOW: A 45-year-old man was beaten and later stabbed to death by unidentified men in Mall area here late on Monday night, police said.

SSP Lucknow Kalanidhi Naithani said, “Santosh Dixit, a resident of Triveni Nagar, was found dead in the morning in Mall area. His body was sent for post-mortem examination and an FIR regarding the matter was lodged.”

The family members have informed police that Dixit was a local trader.

According to the complaint lodged by the Dixit’s wife, the family had gone to Mall to attend a marriage. When the family was about to return, Dixit went to a school near the marriage where food for the marriage party was being prepared and disappeared. “The family members tried to search for him but in vain. His body was eventually recovered some two km from the place at around 6 am,” said the SSP.

The body had clear signs of beating and stabbing that were confirmed later by the post-mortem examination. As per the report, Dixit was thrashed with wooden clubs and stabbed twice in the abdomen that resulted in his death.

Police suspect involvement of at least four people who overpowered Dixit, dragged him to a secluded place in the night and killed him before dumping his body.

Based on the complaint, police have lodged an FIR of murder (Section 302 IPC) against unknown people and initiated investigation.

“Our team is trying to identify suspects who might be involved in the murder. For this we have asked the family members to provide more information about Dixit and the people he knew,” said the SSP.