Three persons were lynched and two others were burnt alive during a group clash in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district on Monday night, barely a few hours before chief minister Yogi Adityanath hailed performance of his government that completed 100 days on Tuesday.
The clash at the district’s Etaura Bujurg was the result of a long-drawn animosity between village head Ram Shri Yadav and his bête noire Rohit Shukla, police said.
Deputy Superintendent of police SP Upadhyay said six persons, including Yadav’s three sons have been detained in connection with the incident and a large contingent of police has been deployed in the village to ensure peace.
“We are satisfied with the work we have done in the first 100 days of our government,” Adityanath told reporters in Lucknow unveiled a booklet ‘100 Din Vishwas Ke’, highlighting his government’s achievements.
Even many in the government admit that crime has spiked in the state in the past 100 days. During this period the state witnessed political killing and outbreak of caste clashes among others.
Monday night’s incident was another pointer to the deteriorating law and order in the state.
{{/usCountry}}Monday night’s incident was another pointer to the deteriorating law and order in the state.
{{/usCountry}}Shukla and his supporters allegedly attacked Yadav’s three sons Raja Yadav, Pradeep Yadav and Krishna Yadav around 8.30pm leading to firing from both sides.
As more supporters of Yadav rushed in, Shukla and his gang tried to escape in a Tata Safari. But in the course of chase, the driver lost control and fell into a ditch after hitting an electric pole.
Supporters of Yadav soon pounced on them and lynched three persons dragging them out of the vehicle. They then torched the vehicle, burning alive two injured trapped inside.
Rohit Shukla was among those killed. Other deceased have been identified as Brijesh Shukla, Anoop Mishra, Narendra Shukla and Alok Mishra.
After receiving the information several senior officers, including the ADG Lucknow zone, the district magistrate and SP of the district rushed to the spot and prevented further flares up.
Additional forces were deployed in the village. A forensic team collected samples from the spot and a police team was constituted to nab the remaining accused.
A probe has also been ordered into the incident.
Bodies were sent for postmortem.