Parking dispute turns deadly in Lucknow: 3 of a family shot dead, accused held

Police arrested neighbour Rishabh Shukla at the scene and recovered a pistol and cartridges. Eight people have been booked for murder.

Under the shade of an ancient banyan tree in Lucknow’s Saadatganj, a squabble over a parked car and a freshly cemented platform turned into a bloodbath in broad daylight on Monday, as three men of one family were gunned down within minutes of each other, allegedly by a neighbour living barely 10 metres away, police said.

Police personnel inspect the site where three people were killed in a firing incident following a clash over a parking spot in Lucknow on Monday (PTI)

Police said the accused, an ex-merchant navy officer, allegedly opened fire during an argument over parking on a vacant plot. The three victims were rushed to the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) Trauma Centre, where all of them succumbed to their injuries.

The incident took place around 10:30 am near the banyan tree in Brahmani Tola, Naubasta. Heavy police force was deployed in the area and senior officers reached the spot. The accused was apprehended at the scene and later arrested.

According to the family, Shivaji was a retired UP Secretariat official, Shivendra worked at Lucknow University, and Suyash ran an electrical spares shop in Aminabad. Suyash was due to get married in December, the family said.

The CP said the accused was identified as Rishabh Shukla, 30, a resident of the same locality. “Prima facie the accused was said to be a navigating officer in the Merchant Navy but was sacked. A pistol allegedly used in the shooting and four empty cartridges were recovered from his possession and four empty cartridges used in the crime were also recovered,” Gauba told media persons.

‘8-9 rounds fired’

Eyewitnesses said 8-9 rounds were fired during the confrontation, which began with an exchange of abuses. Another resident alleged that the accused had strained relations with several people in the locality and claimed he had shut his shop after the accused allegedly made a false molestation allegation against his son. A shutter outside the accused’s house carried a “No parking, fine ₹5,000” warning, reflecting the parking dispute at the centre of the deadly confrontation.

How the dispute started

According to locals, the dispute began when Shivendra was on his way to office and was stopped by the other party.

“The dispute stemmed from the family’s support for public works being carried out by local ward councillor Anupam Kamal, which the accused opposed,” said Ruchi Tiwari, wife of Shivendra, in her police complaint.

“At that time, Rajesh Shukla (alias Tunnu Babu), Vikram Shukla, Girish Shukla, Dinesh Shukla, Munna Babu, along with Divya, Priya, and Aditi (children of Dinesh Kumar), surrounded my husband. They began hurling abuses, seized him, and assaulted him with sticks, clubs, and stones. Upon witnessing this, Shivaji and his son, Suyash, arrived at the scene to intervene,” the complaint read.

Eight people have been booked for murder in connection with the triple murder. Those named in the case are Rajesh Shukla alias Tunnu Babu, Rishabh Shukla, Girish Shukla, Dinesh Shukla, Munna Babu, Divya, Priya and Aditi.

Family alleges long-running feud, harassment

A longstanding feud between the two families, marked by repeated complaints to police and frequent quarrels, has come under scrutiny following Monday’s triple murder in Saadatganj. The victims’ family alleged that the accused’s relatives had been harassing them for years, while residents recalled a fresh altercation between the sides on Sunday night.

In her complaint to Saadatganj police, Ruchi Tiwari, wife of deceased Shivendra Tiwari, alleged that the hostility stemmed from her family’s support for public works being carried out by local ward councillors, which the accused opposed.

She also alleged that some members of the Shukla family had previously been externed from the district in connection with other cases and frequently lodged false complaints against her family. “They frequently harass my family members by filing false complaints at the police station,” her complaint read.

ADCP West Zone Dhananjay Kushwaha confirmed that the accused’s uncle had been externed from the district a few years ago.

Neighbour Anup Saxena said an earlier altercation between the families had been brought to the attention of Saadatganj police, who reportedly told them the matter concerned the Lucknow Municipal Corporation. “Following this, both sides stopped the dispute,” Saxena said.

Home dressed for wedding, family plunged into mourning

Fresh whitewash still coated the walls of the Tiwari family’s house in Mawaiya’s Hashamli Tola in Lucknow’s old city, but the wedding the home was being readied for will no longer take place. Instead of welcoming guests for Suyash Tiwari’s December 5 wedding, the family is preparing to bid farewell to the 30-year-old, his uncle Shivaji, and father Shivendra, who died in Monday’s Saadatganj shooting.

The house had been undergoing preparations for the wedding, with relatives and neighbours looking forward to the occasion. By Monday, the excitement had given way to grief.

“The wedding preparations had already begun. Suyash was to get married on December 5,” said Ruchi Tiwari, Shivendra’s wife, struggling to hold back tears.

Anup Saxena, a neighbour and close friend of Shivaji, recalled the atmosphere at the house just hours before the tragedy. “There was so much happiness in the family until last night. We were all together, and preparations for the wedding were going on,” he said.

“The house that was waiting to celebrate a wedding has suddenly turned into a place of mourning,” said Rakesh Saxena, a tenant of the family.

For the family, the unfinished preparations are now a reminder of a celebration that will never take place. December 5 was to mark a new chapter in Suyash’s life, said Anant Kumar Gupta, a close friend of the family.