Three people were killed, and one person was injured after a dispute between two groups over the income and expenditure of a Ramlila fair turned violent in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday evening, and the prime accused has been arrested.
According to police, the clash broke out during a meeting held to review the previous year’s financial accounts of the mela and discuss the formation of a new committee. Police said tensions escalated after an argument over the accounts, leading to firing during which three people lost their lives.
“Three people have died in the violence between two groups and one person has been injured. While two of the deceased, Kunal Srivastava (18) and Ankit Gupta (30), died on the spot, Mohit Gupta (38) succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Bareilly during treatment,” Circle Officer (Jahanabad) Natasha Goyal told news agency PTI. Ankit and Mohit were brothers.
Superintendent of Police Sukirti Madhav said the prime accused, Kaushal Gupta, has been arrested, even though no complaint has been received from the family members of the deceased so far. Police said Ankit, an office-bearer of last year’s mela committee, had called the meeting on Monday night at the house of one of the members. The agenda included reviewing the previous year’s income and expenditure accounts and discussing the formation of a new committee.
According to police, Kaushal was seeking a position in the fair committee this time and created a commotion by questioning the financial accounts. Ankit and Kunal objected to his behaviour and told him that every expense was being accounted for. This led to a heated exchange between the two groups. Police alleged that during the altercation, Kaushal and his associates opened fire. Ankit and Kunal were shot in the chest and died on the spot.
Mohit and another person, Rohit, were injured and taken to a hospital before being referred to Bareilly, police said. Mohit later died during treatment. Police said a tense atmosphere prevails in Amariya after the incident, and heavy deployment has been made to maintain law and order.
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