Accused in murder bid ‘shot dead by rivals’ before arrest

MEERUT : In a bizarre incident, a man accused of attempt to murder was allegedly shot dead in village Bhawanpur of Meerut district in the presence of police personnel who had gone there to arrest him on Sunday afternoon. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, said police.

Angry locals staged protest and heavy police force had to be deployed in the village to maintain peace.

SP (rural) Avinash Pandey said that police had gone to the village to arrest Dheer Singh, accused of attempt to murder, however, members of a rival faction allegedly shot him dead. Pandey claimed that the police had reached the village but were not present at the crime spot at the time of the incident.

Meanwhile, some villagers refuted the police claim.

They said that police had gone to Dheer Singh’s ‘kolhu’ (gur / jaggery processing unit) along with supporters of a rival family that had accused him of attempt to murder.

There, they said, an altercation broke out between the two parties and Singh was shot dead in the presence of police personnel.

“Two accused (Mukesh and Vijay) have been arrested after a case of murder was lodged on the complaint of Dheer Singh’s wife. Raids are being conducted to arrest a third named accused (Akshay) in the case,” said the SP.

Mukesh, Vijay and Akshay, all relatives and residents of the same village, had accused Dheer Singh of shooting at their family members and a case was registered in the matter sometime ago.

“There was personal enmity between the two families,” said the SP. Reportedly, police were there to arrest Singh in connection with this case when Mukesh and Vijay allegedly attacked and killed him.

4-MONTH-OLD BABY DIES AFTER STONE DROPPED BY MONKEY FALLS ON HIM

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A four-monthold baby died after a stone dropped by a monkey fell on him at his home in Sohjani village of Muzaffarnagar, police said on Sunday.

The incident happened on Saturday in Titawi police station area, they said. Police said the monkey was on the terrace while the baby boy was on the ground floor with his parents.

The monkey picked up a stone lying on the terrace that slipped from its grip and fell on the boy leaving him with serious injuries.

The baby was rushed to a hospital but doctors declared him dead, police said.