Father, Son Die as Panchayat Meet Turns Violent in UP’s Pratapgarh

The meeting was organised between two parties over a land dispute. 

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A father and son lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district after a panchayat meeting, called to solve a land dispute between two parties turned violent, reported NDTV.

Police say they were kept in the dark about the local meeting, in which two lawyers from both sides were present as intermediaries.

Three policemen, including a sub-inspector have been suspended for failing to act in time, which led to the death of Dayashankar Mishra and his son, Anand Mishra.

“Today, in a village in Uttar Pradesh, a panchayat meeting was held to resolve a land dispute between two groups. Clashes broke out between the two sides and the injured were taken to hospital without the police being informed.” 

Abhishek Singh, the Superintendent of Police (Pratapgarh) to NDTV.

According to Singh, the police rushed to the hospital on hearing about the violence but by then, the father and son had already passed away.

Gorakhpur Lawyer Shot Dead

In yet another incident of violence, a 45-year-old lawyer was shot dead over a property dispute in UP’s Gorakhpur, allegedly by his own relatives on Sunday. Rajeshwar Pandey, who was practicing at Gola Tehsil in Gorakhpur, was shot dead near Shivpur village of Gagha area, reports news agency PTI.

"On Sunday morning, Rajeshwar had some argument over land with the grandfather of his relative Chanki Pandey aka Prem Kumar Pandey. After a heated argument, someone fired at the back of the lawyer from close range. He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to injury on the way,” a police officer told PTI.

(With inputs from NDTV, PTI)