3 arrested for killing 5 over land dispute in UP

◗ The accused allegedly lynched three people who tried to flee in a vehicle. They also set the vehicle on fire, killing two more inside it

In a seemingly bizarre incident, three people have been arrested for allegedly killing five during a clash in the Unchahar area in Rae Bareli district on Monday night.

The trouble began over a land dispute between two groups around 9pm.

During the discussion over the issue, one group allegedly opened fire at the other. The villagers led by village head Ramshri heard the gunshots and came to the rescue of the group.

Upon seeing the crowd, the group members fled in their vehicle. However, the vehicle hit an electric pole and the villagers caught the accused.

The angry mob pulled out three persons and allegedly lynched them while the two others locked themselves in the vehicle. The irate villagers proceeded to set the vehicle on fire.

The deceased are Rohit Shukla, Anup Misra, Ankush Misra, Naresh Shukla and Brijesh Shukla. The two survivors, Devesh Misra and Veeru Pandey, have been critical.

Devesh Misra, one of the injured, told the police that Raja Yadav, the son of a former village head and four others were on their way to visit a relative when they attacked the victims. SP Gaurav Singh said the vehicle caught fire after hitting the electric pole. The victims’ kin claim the villagers set the vehicle on fire. A case is registered against former village head Shiv Kumar Yadav and four others.

Senior cops reached the village where the incident took place with a heavy deployment of police in the area.

All bodies were sent for post-mortem and later handed over to the families in Pratapgarh. The investigations is on and the three accused have been taken into custody.