Former pradhan beaten to death in Kannauj, nine arrested

Present pradhan’s husband, his aides thrashed the victim after dispute over installation of hand pump in a school

Tension prevailed in Naruiya village under Talgram police station limits of Kannauj district after a former pradhan of the village was beaten to death allegedly by the family members of present pradhan in dispute over installation of a hand pump on Wednesday night, police said on Thursday. The deceased was stated to be a BJP worker and close associate of local BJP MLA from Chhibramau, Archana Pandey, who visited the hospital after coming to know about the incident.

(Pic for representation)

Heavy police force including provincial armed constabulary was deployed in the village after the incident to avert any further trouble and senior police officers were camping there till last reports came in.

According to the family members of the deceased, the former pradhan, Arun Kumar Shakya had gone to get a hand pump installed in a primary school on Wednesday evening where he got into a dispute with the husband of the present pradhan Sarojini Devi. They stated the former pradhan was held hostage by the present pradhan’s husband and his aides in his house when the dispute escalated and assaulted him brutally in captivity.

They said the assailants later dumped injured Shakya in front of his house after which he was rushed to primary health centre of Talgram from where he was referred to the district hospital after first aid, but he succumbed there during the treatment later in the night.

Superintendent of police (SP) Kunwar Anupam Singh who along with other senior officials reached the spot late in the night said there was a fight between two groups in the village in which former pradhan Arun Kumar Shakya was killed.

He said a report has been filed against nine people on behalf of the aggrieved party, of which almost all the accused have been arrested by the police.