A series of sensational killings rocked Uttar Pradesh during the last 24 hours.
In the first incident, a former village head (sarpanch) was allegedly beaten to death in Talgram police station area of Kannauj district, triggering tension, police said on Thursday.
After the incident, police force from several police stations and Provincial Armed Constabulary jawans were deployed in the area.
According to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Chhibramau, Archana Pandey, the former village head was a BJP worker.
Citing the report lodged by the victim's family, the police said that Arun Kumar Shakya, the former village head of Naruia village, had gone to a primary school on Wednesday evening to get a hand pump installed, where he had a dispute with the husband of the present village head, Sarojini Devi.
The dispute escalated and the husband of the present village head took the former village head hostage and beat him badly. He was taken to the Talgram health centre from where he was referred to the district hospital after first aid, police said. Police said that Shakya died late in the night.
Superintendent of Police Kunwar Anupam Singh, who reached the spot late in the night with Circle Officer (City) Priyanka Bajpai, said that there was a fight between two parties in the village in which former village head Arun Kumar Shakya was killed. He said that a report had been lodged against nine people on behalf of the aggrieved party.
In another brutal killing, two youths assaulted a divyang with a stick and rod and threw him out of his house.
The incident took place in Meerut and the relatives took the victim to a private hospital, from where he was referred to the district hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead.
Reports said that Shahvez, of Saddiknagar under the Lisadi Gate police station, was a disabled person. According to the police, Shahvez tried to intervene in a dispute outside his house on Tuesday afternoon when two youths started beating him up.
He rushed inside his home to save himself but the accused pulled him out and brutally assaulted him with a stick and rod, critically injuring him. He died on the way to hospital.
Shahvez’s elder brother Parvez lodged a report against Asif and Imran, accusing them of killing his brother.
A case was registered and efforts were on to nab the assailants.
Meanwhile, a pregnant woman and her 32-year-old husband, a farmer, were brutally murdered by their relatives over some land related on Thursday, police said.
The couple's bodies were found lying on a cot inside their house.
Two people allegedly involved in the murder have been arrested.
According to police, Somveer, a resident of Lahadora village in Budaun, had married Kushboo, 26, a native of Bihar, two years ago. The couple was expecting its first child. Udayveer, a brother of Somveer, in his police complaint alleged that his brother and sister-in-law were killed by their uncle Amar Singh, his son Satendra, and three others over a land related dispute.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Siddharth Verma said that Udayveer informed them that his uncle and cousin along with three others had killed his brother and sister-in-law by hitting them with an iron rod on their heads.
"On the basis of the complaint we have arrested Amar Singh and his son Satendra. Further investigation is underway," the police officer said.
The bodies were sent for post-mortem, the police said.
In a bizarre killing in Lalitpur, a youth threw his parents from the roof in Lakhanpur village under Jakhora police station of the district, killing both.
The police reached the spot on getting information and sent the bodies for autopsy.
According to reports, Puran (78) and his wife Nanhi Bai (68) lived in Lakhanpura village under Jakhora police station. His son Bhikam Prajapati is mentally deranged. Late on Wednesday night, the deranged son beat up his parents and threw them from the roof. After this he attacked both with stones. The villagers, who reached the spot, rescued the aged parents after a lot of effort. After this, both were admitted to the hospital where both died during treatment.
According to the villagers, Bhikam Prajapati is mentally deranged since birth. He used to quarrel with people every day. However, the treatment of the mentally deranged youth is going on. The Bansi police outpost incharge said that Bhikam threw his parents from the terrace and killed them.