Uttar Pradesh: Realtor murdered for objecting to liquor consumption at Agra dhaba

The culprits managed to escape despite the presence of a police response vehicle in the vicinity. A few witnesses have been rounded up for questioning.

A property dealer was shot dead by a group of youngsters after he objected to the consumption of liquor at a dhaba on Kalindi Vihar road on Friday night.

Sunil Yadav was shot twice by the youngsters. He was declared dead on arrival at the SN Medical College. (File photo)

The victim, Sunil Yadav, was a resident of Nagla Rambal in Itimad-ud-Daula. Sources said the culprits managed to escape despite the presence of a police response vehicle in the vicinity.

“A few witnesses have been rounded up for questioning,” said deputy superintendent of police BS Tyagi. “We have registered a case, and launched a search for the criminals.”

Police said Yadav – who was in his early thirties – owned a commercial complex on Kalindi Vihar road. The incident occurred around midnight on Friday, when a group of six to seven youngsters visited a dhaba in the complex and began drinking. When the victim objected, they turned aggressive. Not to be cowed down, Yadav threatened to alert the police van parked nearby.

The group left grudgingly.

A little later, they returned with firearms. Yadav was shot twice, and people began running helter-skelter. “The personnel in the police response vehicle immediately started for the crime scene, but it took them a while to reach the other side of the street. The attackers had escaped by then,” said Tyagi.

Yadav was rushed to the SN Medical College, where he was declared dead on arrival. His father was so upset by the news that he had to be hospitalised.

Local residents condemned police for allowing such an incident to occur despite being in the vicinity. Some even accused personnel in the van of rolling up their windows, allowing the culprits to escape.

Though police initially defended the two personnel in the police response vehicle, they later admitted to laxity on their part. ‘These policemen, being in the vicinity, should have intervened or at least given chase to the culprits. They have prima facie been found to be negligent,” said superintendent of police (city) Kunwar Anupam Singh.

“A report is being drafted, and action will follow,” he added.