Four held while attempting to murder ex zila panchayat chairman in Bahraich

Bahraich (UP), Aug 31 (PTI) Four men -- including three hired killers who were allegedly planning to murder a former zila panchayat chairman in Bahraich over a property dispute -- were arrested after an encounter, police said on Sunday.

They said the suspects were attempting to murder Vijay Singh, who is also the son of late former MLA Drigraj Singh, at Kadsar Bitaura area of the district on Saturday night.

One of the suspects was injured in the leg during the encounter, they added.

According to police, the plot was hatched by Alok Singh, the son-in-law of Vijay Singh's later elder brother Tarun Singh, over a property dispute.

Alok wanted to sell a 150-bigha land and saw Vijay Singh as an obstacle. So he hired three criminals from Barabanki, who had been released from jail recently, to murder Vijay Singh, police said.

According to Additional Superintendent of Police Ramanand Prasad Kushwaha, police received a tip-off about the criminals intending to harm Vijay Singh.

"At around 8.15 pm on Saturday, a joint team of Bahraich Police and Special Task Force found four suspicious individuals near Vijay Singh's farmhouse in the Kadsar Bitaura area under Kaisarganj police station limits. When they were cornered, the suspects tried to escape by opening fire. The police fired back in self-defence, and one of the criminals was hit on the leg," ASP Kushwaha said.

He said the injured suspect, Parshuram Maurya, was taken to a local community health centre for treatment.

Out of the four arrested, three were convicted criminals, Kushwaha said.

Parshuram Maurya and Pradeep Yadav hailed from an area under the jurisdiction of Badosarai police station in Barabanki and have served 17-year sentence each. Saket Rawat hailed from Barabanki's Tikaitnagar police station limits and has served a 15-year sentence. The mastermind, Alok Singh, hailed from Hajipur in Barabanki, the ASP said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that they had conducted a reconnaissance and came to know that Vijay Singh goes to a temple on his farm every evening to light a lamp, the officer said.

Police said they have recovered two pistols, one revolver, live and spent cartridges, and a motorcycle were recovered from the possession of suspects.

A case has been registered at the Kaisarganj police station and further investigation is underway, they added. PTI COR CDN RUK RUK