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Lawyer murder accused held in police encounter
On Tuesday evening, two unidentified men posing as clients barged into the house of Kanishk Mehrotra. “Kanishk Mehrotra, one of the prominent lawyers of the district, was shot dead by one of the assailants at around 7:45 pm on Tuesday.
LUCKNOW: Three days after the murder of lawyer Kanishk Mehrotra at his residence in Hardoi, the police on Friday arrested one accused, identified as Neeraj, during an encounter.
“The accused sustained bullet injuries and was taken to hospital where he is undergoing treatment. A 315-bore pistol, one live cartridge, and two empty cartridges were found in his possession,” said Hardoi police in a press note, adding that efforts were ongoing to nab the other accused. Police also said that sections of 109 BNS and the Arms Act had been pressed in the FIR.
On Tuesday evening, two unidentified men posing as clients barged into the house of Kanishk Mehrotra. “Kanishk Mehrotra, one of the prominent lawyers of the district, was shot dead by one of the assailants at around 7:45 pm on Tuesday. The injured lawyer was rushed to a Lucknow hospital but succumbed on the way,” Hardoi SP Neeraj Kumar Jadaun had said while briefing the media after the incident.
Mehrotra’s office employee Girish informed the police that two men on a bike asked him to call the lawyer as they wanted to discuss a case. One of them entered the office holding a file, the SP said.
The incident triggered massive protests by the deceased’s colleagues outside the residence of Hardoi district magistrate Mangla Prasad and superintendent of police Neeraj Jadaun on Wednesday, demanding strict action against the assailants and the conspirators behind the killing of the advocate.
Police had earlier said that Mehrotra lived in a rented property worth around ₹5 crore. The four suspects, including a former Samajwadi Party district president, purchased this property with the intent to build a commercial building there and were trying to get the lawyer to vacate the premises. All four suspects were taken into custody and are being interrogated.
Meanwhile on Friday, acting on a tip-off, police surrounded Neeraj on a bypass near Sandi-Bawan road. Seeing the police, Neeraj opened fire, and in retaliation, the police also fired shots and managed to nab him.
