In a sensational broad daylight murder in Pratapgarh, a local Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader was shot dead in Jethwara area by some unidentified assailants on Monday.
Local police officers rushed to the spot soon after getting information about the killing and faced a huge protest by the local residents and colleagues of the victim.
Reports said that a lawyer by profession, Om Mishra Pranav, 38, who was also the VHP president of Kunda tehsil, was gunned down when he was going somewhere on a motorcycle on Monday morning.
Following Pranav’s murder, the local lawyers blocked traffic near collectorate gate and demanded immediate arrest of the murderers.
The victim’s body has been sent for post-mortem and investigation are on.
Meanwhile, in another incident, two persons have been arrested in Muzaffarnagar for allegedly murdering a 12-year-old boy after he resisted their attempt to sodomise him, police said on Monday.
The accused, aged 19 and 20 years, were the victim’s friends. They were arrested on Sunday in Charthawal town, station house officer Sube Singh said.
He said the incident was reported on February 26 when the boy’s body was found in a sugarcane field in Muzaffarnagar. The victim had gone out with the accused and did not return home.
Singh said the accused duo had confessed that they strangulated the boy when he tried to resist the assault.