Gold chain snatcher linked to Headmaster's murder held after encounter

Ballia (UP), Sep 20 (PTI) Police on Saturday arrested a man for allegedly killing a headmaster while snatching his gold chain when he was returning home from school on a motorcycle here, an official said.

The arrested criminal was shot in the leg during a police encounter, a police official said.

Circle Officer (Rasra) Alok Gupta told reporters that during checking on Friday night, police signaled a motorcyclist to stop, but he attempted to flee by turning around. The police team chased him, following which the motorcyclist opened fire at the police team with the intention to kill them.

Police fired in self-defence in which Nitish Kumar Singh alias Mohan Singh (24), a resident of Deoria district, was shot in the right leg. Another criminal, Vikas Sonkar, took advantage of the darkness and fled from the spot.

During interrogation, Singh revealed that on September 16, he and his associates snatched a gold chain from the neck of a female teacher, Radhika Verma, in Ubhaon area. On the same day, gold chains and rings were snatched from headmaster Devendra Pratap Yadav and assistant teacher Kanchan Singh, and Yadav (57) was shot dead.

Singh has been admitted to the district hospital for treatment. A country-made pistol and cartridges, a motorcycle involved, and Rs 12,530 were recovered from his possession, police said.

Efforts are on to nab the absconding accused.

Yadav, a resident of Yadav Nagar in Belthara Road town, was the headmaster of a government composite school in Deoria district. Kanchan Singh, a resident of Bibipur locality in Belthara Road, was an assistant teacher in the school.

After attending a meeting at the school, the two were returning home on the same motorcycle on Tuesday afternoon when three criminals on a motorcycle robbed her of her gold chain. When Yadav resisted, he was shot at and killed, while the female teacher was injured in the incident, PTI COR NAV SMV SMV HIG HIG