Video of former kotedar (sugar, kerosene and grain in charge of villages under public distribution system) allegedly shot dead by a former Pradhan and his aides in a village in Shahjahanpur in the presence of some police officers almost went viral on social media for five Days after the incident, on Sunday.
Police said the accused and the victim are close relatives and they had been in dispute over ownership of land in Pipariya Udhaybhanpur village under the boundaries of Nigohi Police Station in Shahjahanpur district.
The incident reportedly happened on November 22, but the 44-second video went viral on Twitter after it was shared on November 27 by the head of the social media cell of the UP Congress, which discusses the state’s legal situation was questioned.
The video shows former Pradhan Mewa Ram and his aides firing his licensed gun, killing former Kotedar Radhey Shyam. According to reports, the incident happened in the presence of some police officers who tried to stop the female members of Radhey Shyam’s family from throwing stones.
Local sources said the dispute between the two groups over the country has been going on for three years and the victim’s family has been trying to resolve the issue for the past two weeks, but police and other tax officials took the matter very seriously. The dispute escalated when Radhey Shyam began building a wall on Tuesday, during which time officers from the UP112 police vehicle arrived at the site.
The video shows police officers trying to stop the stone-throwing, who reportedly fled the scene after shooting at Mewa Ram and his helpers. The attackers used sticks to attack the victim’s female family members as they tried to pull him away after he was injured by the gunfire. Police personnel later returned with a heavy police presence, but by then Radhey Shyam had died.
Shahjahanpur Police (SP) Superintendent S Anand told the media that an FIR was filed against five people, including the former Pradhan and his sons, on charges of murder and rioting, on charges filed by the victim’s brother, Hari Shankar.
He said the victim was the former Pradhan’s uncle and they had been in dispute over the land on which the victim built a wall on Tuesday morning when the incident happened. He said the former Pradhan and two other defendants were arrested and taken to jail on the same day while attempts were made to arrest two other defendants.
