Lawyer shot at over land dispute in UP's Barabanki

Barabanki, Mar 7 (PTI) A 32-year-old lawyer was seriously injured after he was shot at allegedly over a land dispute in a village here, police said on Saturday.

The injured man, identified as Chandresh Verma, was taken to the district hospital, but due to his critical condition, he was referred to the trauma centre in Lucknow, Emergency Medical Officer Pushparaj Rana said.

Police said Verma is a native of Veer Balpurwa village in the Safdarganj area, but currently resides in Mohari Purwa locality under Kotwali Nagar.

Verma told police before being referred to Lucknow that he had returned home from court on Friday evening and had gone to a nearby field when six to seven people allegedly ambushed him.

The attackers first assaulted him and later shot him in the abdomen, police said.

Verma alleged that he had a long-standing land dispute with his relatives and claimed the attack was linked to the ongoing case.

About eight bighas of land in his father's name had been fraudulently transferred by the opposing party, Verma alleged and said that he was pursuing the matter legally.

Meanwhile, a large number of lawyers gathered at the district hospital after receiving information about the incident.

Additional Superintendent of Police Vikas Chandra Tripathi reached the hospital and assured the lawyers of a thorough investigation.

Tripathi said the injured lawyer has a land dispute with his uncle's sons, and police are conducting a detailed probe to identify and arrest those involved. PTI COR KIS RHL