Unidentified miscreants pelted stones at the vehicle of the newly-elected MLA from Nanpara constituency in Bahraich, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place at around 8:30 pm on Tuesday when legislator Ram Niwas Verma of the Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, had reached Matera intersection in Bahraich from Nanpara, Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Kunwar Gyananjay Singh said.
No casualty was reported in the attack, but the windows of the vehicle were damaged, the ASP said, adding that the MLA had lodged an FIR and further investigation was underway.
Asked if the incident was a fallout of political rivalry, the ASP said, "It is too early to say anything. Everything will be clear after the investigation and the guilty will be arrested soon."
Meanwhile, three police officials, including the local inspector, were suspended on Wednesday in connection with the sensational killing of four persons, including the former village head, in Amethi on Tuesday evening.
More than half a dozen people were injured when assailants attacked another group which asked the former to stop construction work.
The incident was fallout over a disputed piece of land at a village in the Amethi district.
Ayodhya Range IG KP Singh rushed to Amethi late on Tuesday night to take stock of the situation. Singh also suspended Amethi Kotwali in-charge Vinod Kumar Singh, Station House Officer Sanjay Singh, and constable Swatantra Upadhyaya with immediate effect.
Tension, however, still prevailed in the area and a heavy police force was deployed to avert any untoward incident.
The relatives of the deceased accused the police of taking bribes, hence, three policemen were placed under suspension, the local officers disclosed.
According to reports, the assailants attacked another group over a disputed piece of land at Gungvach Rajapur village, in which several people were injured and altogether four persons were killed.
A dispute was brewing over a piece of barren land plot between former village head Amresh (45) and his relatives. On Tuesday, the relatives of Amresh started some construction work on the disputed land but Amresh and his family members raised objections over the construction and asked the other group to halt work. But family members of Amresh alleged that the other faction did not pay heed to the request and they attacked with sharp-edged weapons and also rained lathis on them.
In the attack, former village head Amresh Yadav (45), Hanuman Yadav (50), Sankatha Yadav (61) Sankata’s wife Parvasti Yadav (59) were killed while Dhannu Devi (42), Nayika (60), Rajkumar (12), and Ashok (30) sustained injuries, and are undergoing treatment at the district hospital.
A relative of the deceased, Gayatri, alleged, "Earlier, both the factions had reached an agreement over the disputed piece of the land. There is a barren land plot in front of our house. On Tuesday, our relatives again started construction work on the said land, but we asked them to stop work. But, instead of stopping work, the assailants armed with sharp-edged weapons as well as lathis, attacked our family members."
Amethi ADM Sanjeev Kumar Maurya and Police Circle Officer Arpit Kapoor also visited the spot and a probe into the incident has begun.
Amethi ASP Vinod Kumar Pandey said, "A clash took place between two rival factions over a disputed piece of land in which three persons were killed and several injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital. After the registration of the case in the matter, the investigation has begun. Five teams have been deputed to arrest culprits. The accused will be arrested soon."