KANNAUJ: A 42-year-old lawyer was allegedly shot dead following a dispute with a Congress functionary in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj district on Diwali evening. The accused, identified as Amol Dikshit, fled after the shooting with his licensed pistol and remains absconding, police said.
The victim, Anuj Chaturvedi, was taken to a hospital after being shot but was declared dead on arrival. Police said six teams had been formed to trace Dikshit.
Additional Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar said the incident took place around 6.30 pm on Sunday after an argument broke out between Chaturvedi's cousin, Abhishek alias Basant, and Dikshit, who runs a grocery shop near his residence.
Dikshit allegedly slapped Basant during the altercation, following which the latter called Chaturvedi. The lawyer arrived at the shop on a motorcycle with his friend Deepak Pathak.
According to police, the argument escalated when the three confronted Dikshit, who was sitting at the shop with his parents. Dikshit allegedly took out a pistol from a drawer and fired four to five rounds, critically injuring Chaturvedi.
Police said an eyewitness was present during the shooting. Dikshit's parents have also been arrested after the victim's family named them in the case.
The two families reportedly had longstanding political differences. The Chaturvedis are associated with the BJP, while Dikshit has been linked to the Congress. BJP's Chhibramau unit president Dilip Gupta described Chaturvedi as an active party worker.
Police said the two men had also clashed at a polling booth during the 2022 Assembly elections and had remained rivals since then.
There are conflicting accounts of Dikshit's political position. Shakir Ali, former president of the Kannauj Congress district unit, described him as the outgoing general secretary, while Congress state secretary Vijay Mishra said he was a party worker and that he had no information about Dikshit holding any formal post.
Reports also differ on Dikshit's electoral background, with one account saying he contested the 2022 Assembly election from Chhibramau and lost.
Circle Officer Mayank Mishra and Kotwal Kapil Dubey reached the scene in Koyla Wali Gali and began an investigation. Police said all aspects of the case were being examined.
With inputs from media reports