A shocking case has come to light in Bijnor district where a man brutally murdered a priest after his predicted number did not come in the lottery played by the killer.
The sensational disclosure was made by the police after the arrest of the accused involved in the killing.
Superintendent of Police of Bijnor, Dr Dharamvir Singh, said that on the morning of December 11, the body of Jai Mahakali temple priest Baba Ramdas Giri was found lying in the premises near Nangal village with injury marks on the head of the priest.
He said that a case was registered and with the help of surveillance and informers, the police picked up a suspect, identified as Mohammad Zeeshan, a resident of Mohalla Chashiri Bijnor.
After being grilled by the police party, Zeeshan broke down and confessed to the killing, Singh disclosed on Wednesday.
Zeeshan revealed that due to the wrong prediction of the baba (priest), he suffered a loss of Rs 5 lakh in the lottery. He claimed that Baba Ramdas Giri, 56, a resident of Soti village, had many followers who earned money on Baba's predictions in the lottery. He claimed that in greed of making quick money, he also contacted Baba and gave him Rs 51,000 and a mobile phone with the request to disclose the last digit of the lottery so that he could win money. Initially the numbers provided by the Baba turned up and he won over Rs 2 lakh in the last few days.
Zeeshan said that last week, he bought lottery tickets worth over Rs 5 lakh, all having last `digit’ as predicted by the Baba. However, the number did not turn up and he lost all the money.
Zeeshan said that annoyed with the Baba, he went to meet him on the fateful day and later in a fit of rage, he murdered him and absconded.
A case was registered against him under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and he was sent to jail.
Meanwhile, in another sensational killing in Meerut, a 55-year-old former village head was shot dead in broad daylight in Kithauli village on Tuesday. The unidentified assailants also opened fire at the deceased's son, who sustained serious injuries.
As per the reports, the deceased, identified as Tejpal Singh, was on his way to Khatauli with his son, when unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire at them. Tejpal Singh died on the spot while his son managed to escape, police said.
The two assailants surrendered at the Jaani police station with pistols that they claimed were used in the murder, police added.
"The deceased was rushed to a hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. Police have taken both the women into custody and have been questioning them," claimed SHO Sanjay Verma.
Sources said that the villagers heard the assailants shouting that "they will continue killing people" and "there will be more murders following this one" as they fled the crime scene.
Police suspect personal rivalry behind the murder.
An investigation is underway into the matter.