In a sensational incident in Baghauli area of Hardoi, two farmers were killed by old rivals who served them poison-laced alcohol on Wednesday.
As per reports, Anil Tiwari (50) and Deshraj (48) of Jera village in Baghauli police station area were working in the fields on Wednesday evening when they were called by a youth of another village. The youth later served them soft drinks claiming that it was mixed with alcohol.
Both Anil and Deshraj enjoyed the swig and left for home but their conditions deteriorated in the night after which their family members rushed them to the district hospital. But both Anil and Deshraj died during treatment late in the night.
Anil Tiwari's son Sanjeev Tiwari alleged that the youth murdered his father by giving the poisonous drink over an old enmity.
SP of Harodi, Rajesh Dwivedi, said that an FIR was registered and investigations were going on.
Meanwhile in Meerut, unknown miscreants attacked a cowshed wherein a man identified as Netrapal was killed while another was injured in Panchli area of Sarurpur police station area on Wednesday night.
While the deceased 'gau sevak' was identified as Netrapal, another worker, Haroon sustained bullet injury.
Netrapal's brother Charan Singh called the locals for help but they were so frightened by the assailants that they waited for the police to shift the victims to hospital.
SSP of Meerut, Prabhakar Chaudhary and SP (Rural) Keshav Kumar reached the scene as Netrapal's dead body lay on the ground with Haroon injured. Haroon was shifted to Meerut and then to Delhi for treatment. The police later combed the fields in search of the assailants.
It surfaced that Netrapal and Haroon were sleeping when five armed assailants entered the gaushala and started beating the two. The miscreants dragged them and stole a mobile phone of a third staff Charan Singh and beat him up. However, Charan managed to escape and called for help as the assailants started firing and killed Netrapal. They fled after taking Haroon for dead.
As a precaution, a heavy police force was deployed in the village.
As per reports, a dispute regarding the gaushala has been cited as a possible cause behind the incident and the police were also working on the rivalry angle.