In a sensational daylight shoot-out in Kasganj on Saturday, two groups exchanged fire over a land-dispute that left five dead while a sixth was battling for his life. Senior officers who rushed to the spot later deployed heavy police force after the incident as tension prevailed in the area.
As per reports, Ram Rayees Dhobi of Kisaul hamlet of Sanghari and Ram Kishore of nearby Kilauli hamlet were trying to grab unclaimed land along the Ganga river banks. Both parties had clashed several times over the issue in the past but local police took no serious action and merely completed formlaities by taking preventive measures.
On Saturday morning, the smouldering enmity took a bloody turn when both parties reached the site to stake claim. After a heated exchange, membersof both groups whipped out fire arms and opened indiscriminate fire. Some labourers working there somehow scampered to safety and saved their lives.
The warring groups fired at least five dozen rounds with their license guns and handguns in which Ram Rayees (40) and his associate Amrit Pal (41) were killed while Amrit’s brother Udai Veer was critically injured and is now battling for his life.
From the other side, Ram Kishore and his brother Shiv Ram were gunned down along with a kin Sukhveer Rathor.
Witnesses said that two policemen reached the area after learning of the initial fracas but they preferred to flee the scene as the two groups started exchnaging fire.
More than an hour after the incident, a police team reached the scene and informed the senior officers about the shoot-out. A case was registered and the bodies were sent for autopsy. Heavy police force is patrolling the area but no arrests could be made in this regard.
Meanwhile in Sultanpur, a woman got her nephew killed and critically injured another kin as they refused to stand by their statements given in connection with the murder of her husband. In 2010, Ram Kumar was sprayed with bullets in the presence of his nephew near his house at Majhwara in Sultanpur. The murdercase came up for trial. However, Ram Kumar’s nephew and witnesses to the shoot-out Ajeet Kumar Yadav (28) and another kin Ramshankar Singh aka Mohan, refused to stand by their statements and turned hostile.
The police said that Ram Kumar’s widow Kamla Devi, who is a sitting Zila Panchayat member, was annoyed with Ajeet and Ramshankar and she orchestrated their killing.
As per plan, Kamla Devi along with her brother Santosh Yadav, Rajendra Mishra and Ramkant Mishra rounded up Ajeet and Ramshankar while they were returning home on Friday night. The accused opened indiscriminate fire on the duo killing Ajeet on the spot while Ramshankar was seriously injured. He was rushed to a hospital by the police. A case was registered in this regard and a hunthas been launched to nab the assailants.