Three persons were killed and several others were injured when two groups clashed over cultivating sugarcane on a disputed piece of land at Govindpur village in Faridpur area of Bareilly district on Wednesday night.
Faridpur Circle Officer Gaurav Singh said the incident took place when one of the groups objected to another group working in the field.
Police said that prime accused Suresh Pal Tomar reached the spot with his associates when a group of Sikh farmers were working in the field, and after heated arguments, he opened fire. In retaliation, Sikh farmers attacked Pal and his aides with sharp-edged objects, the police added.
On getting information about the clash, police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. Half a dozen persons injured in the clash were taken to a hospital where three of them were pronounced dead. Among the three dead, two – Sardar Parvinder Singh and Devendra Singh – had bullet injuries in their bodies, police said, adding that the third victim was identified as Gul Mohammed.
Police said the third deceased, who had injuries from a sharp-edged weapon on his body, was an associate of Pal.
Police are conducting raids in search of history-sheeter Suresh Pradhan, accused of firing. However, so far they have failed to get any success. Pradhan has also got political protection and his photos with political leaders are also viral on social media.
Sources said that Suresh Pradhan had changed his residence from Faridpur in Bareilly by building a new house in Ujhani in Budaun. Govindpur village of Faridpur police station area is in Ramganga's Katri. It is on the border of Budaun's Dataganj, Bareilly's Bhamaura, and Faridpur police stations.
Sources said that Suresh and his henchmen fired more than 20 rounds of fire. The deceased Paramveer, and Devendra are residents of Punjab. They used to work on the farm. Two years ago in the same land enmity, one person was killed in firing from a country-made rifle.
Meanwhile, the cousin of a Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Sarai Chandel village under Subeha police station of the district was brutally murdered on Wednesday night.
Reports said that BJP leader Awadhesh Singh's cousin Dinesh Singh (50), who was an advocate, was brutally murdered by unknown assailants.
According to the reports, Dinesh went out on Wednesday evening to water the field and did not return till late night. The family members searched for him for a long time, but could not trace him. The family subsequently lodged a missing report at the Subeha police station. Meanwhile, on Thursday morning, the body of Dinesh Singh was found lying in the garden near the farm. Some villagers who went to the fields on Thursday morning saw Dinesh's body lying in a pool of blood. The local police reached the spot and claimed that an insulator used to tie electric wires was found lying near the body. They also claimed to have picked up some suspects. Further investigations are on.
Meanwhile, a man was arrested for harassing a woman and her two daughters in Bareilly city. The incident took place on Wednesday morning and the accused was identified as Mohammad Akil Mannu hailing from the Izzatnagar locality.
Based on a complaint filed by the woman at the Kila police station of Bareilly, police arrested Mannu last evening. According to the complainant, the accused followed the woman and her two daughters to Alakhnath temple where they had gone for darshan and started harassing them. The woman, with the help of locals, nabbed the man and handed him over to the police.
Bareilly’s Superintendent of Police Rahul Bhati said that a case had been registered under sections 294 and 354 after recording the complainant's statement. Further investigation is underway.