Uttar Pradesh: 2 men murdered at beer shop attack, protests erupt

Two young men were murdered in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, during a New Year's altercation at a beer shop. The incident sparked protests

Two young men were brutally murdered with sharp-edged weapons at a beer shop in a village near the Bihar border in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia on the first night of the New Year, officials said Thursday.

two young guys were brutally killed with sharp objects in a beer shop in a hamlet close to the Bihar border (PTI/representative)

The incident triggered protests by the families and villagers, who briefly blocked the national highway, demanding justice.

According to police, the victims, 23-year-old Prashant Gupta and 24-year-old Golu Verma, had gone to a licensed beer shop in Kotwa Narayanpur village on Wednesday night when an argument and physical altercation broke out. During the scuffle, assailants attacked both youths with sharp weapons, including an axe, killing them on the spot.

Outraged by the murders, the victims' families and villagers placed the bodies on the national highway, blocking the Ghazipur-Bharauli road. Protestors raised slogans against the police, causing long queues of vehicles on both sides of the road.

"The police have taken both bodies into custody and sent them for postmortem after completing necessary legal formalities. Based on complaints from the families, an FIR has been registered against four named individuals under relevant sections of the law," SP Omvir Singh said.

"Three teams have been formed to apprehend the accused, and legal proceedings are ongoing. Peace has been restored in the area," he added.

Singh also said that the accused are troublemakers from the victims' village and further investigations are underway.