Amidst tension, trader shot in Maulviganj

UNIDENTIFIED ASSAILANTS shot a trader in Maulviganj late on Tuesday evening even as news of the Varanasi blasts caused panic in the area. Senior officials from police and administration were patrolling the same area along with a posse of policemen, trying to calm the tension when the murder took place.

UNIDENTIFIED ASSAILANTS shot a trader in Maulviganj late on Tuesday evening even as news of the Varanasi blasts caused panic in the area.

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Senior officials from police and administration were patrolling the same area along with a posse of policemen, trying to calm the tension when the murder took place.

Though the exact motive behind the murder was yet to be established, SSP Ashutosh Pandey said it was the fallout of enmity. Residents later staged a road blockade at Pandeyganj crossing protesting the murder of the trader and demanding the arrest of the assailants. The agitators also demanded an ex-gratia payment for the kin of the deceased.

The incident took place around 7.30 pm when panic-stricken shopkeepers were closing their shops following news about tension afresh after the Varanasi blasts. The victim Suresh Gautam (40), a resident of Pandeyganj, Wazirganj, who ran a shop of goatskin at Chikmandi locality, too closed his shop fearing disturbance in the area.

Gautam, along with his sister-in-law Ram Devi, had barely left his shop and was walking towards the Maulviganj Road when he was shot in the back. Nobody from the public, including Ram Devi, could see the assailant.

Ram Devi somehow rushed the profusely bleeding victim to the Balrampur Hospital, where he was declared dead. He suffered a single bullet injury.

The agitation at Pandeyganj crossing was going on till last reports came in.