Bareilly group clash: Five held, prime accused critical in hospital after suffering sword injuries

A senior police official said those arrested are identified as Suresh Pradhan’s two sons Vipin and Vikas Tomar and another named accused Suraj Pal and his two sons Rahul and Sanjay.

Five key accused have been arrested in connection with the group clash in a Bareilly village in supremacy to occupy over 2500 bigha of land that led to the killing of three people and leaving at least 29 people injured on Wednesday evening, said Bareilly police officials on Sunday. They said the prime accused Suresh Pal Singh Tomar alias Suresh Pradhan, who was also severely injured in the clash, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bareilly under police security.

The police had prepared a list of around 50 people from both sides whose locations have been found at the spot at the time of the incident. (FOR REPRESENTATION )

A senior police official said those arrested are identified as Suresh Pradhan’s two sons Vipin and Vikas Tomar and another named accused Suraj Pal and his two sons Rahul and Sanjay. He said Suresh Pradhan is severely injured on the right side of the head and hand in the attack with a sword allegedly with the opponent group of Sardar Param Vir Singh. He said he was initially admitted to a Moradabad hospital from where he was later shifted to a Bareilly hospital where he was operated on and kept in Intensive Care Unit. He said Pradhan is still unconscious but the police force has been deployed so that he could be quizzed and taken into custody after he recovers from his injuries.

He said the police had prepared a list of around 50 people from both sides whose locations have been found at the spot at the time of the incident. He said the police are carrying out raids in search of these people and strict action will be taken against them.

Earlier on Wednesday, the groups of Sardar Param Vir Singh and Suresh Pradhan had clashed due to a dispute over the possession of highly fertile 2,500 bigha land on the Budaun-Bareilly border. He said Param Vir Singh has migrated from Punjab and occupied several bighas of land in the region and does sugarcane farming on a large scale as well as made a farmhouse there. While Suresh Pradhan, who is a local muscleman and history-sheeter, tried to challenge the supremacy of Sardar Param Vir Singh and take possession of the same land, he added.

During the clash, over 50 rounds were fired from more than a dozen firearms and weapons like swords and other sharp-edged objects were used for nearly 45 minutes by both groups. The incident occurred at Govindpur of Katka Raman gram panchayat under Faridipur police station limits. Those killed were identified as Sardar Parmenda Singh and Sardar Devendra Singh, both of whom were part of Sardar Paramvir Singh group; and Gul Mohammed Golu from the group of Suresh Pal Singh Tomar, the former pradhan of adjoining Raipur Hansh village, according to police. Other men -- who sustained bullet or sword injuries -- are undergoing treatment at the district hospital.

In the incident, Sardar Paramvir Singh’s farmhouse manager Khajanchi Lal got an FIR filed against Suresh Pal Singh Tomar, and 17 other named accused while mentioning 15 other unidentified people. The counter-complaint from the second group of Suresh Pradhan is still awaited.