A 44-year-old man associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was allegedly beaten to death and three of his family members were critically injured in a major clash in the Bairagiwala village of Uttarakhand’s Dehradun.
The deceased has been identified as Vinod, a local BJP functionary. The person was allegedly killed on Saturday in a dispute over irrigation, PTI quoted officials as saying.
After the incident, local authorities razed the “illegal” structures belonging to the accused, amid chants of “Jai Shri Ram” by the crowd.
As per police, Vinod got involved in an altercation over watering an adjacent field belonging to Imtiaz of the same village. The incident happened between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
After that, a group of over 40 people stormed Vinod’s house and launched an assault on the family. The accused were said to be armed with lathis, wooden planks, hammers, and shovels.
Police said that Vinod was struck on the head with a hammer and died on the spot, while his brothers, Ashok and Rajesh, as well as sister-in-law Sushma sustained severe injuries in the attack.
Condemning the attack, Vikasnagar MLA Munna Singh Chauhan said Vinod was a dedicated functionary of the party. He added that the accused will not be spared.
Further, he appealed the locals to maintain peace and stay patient.
The victim’s brother, Ashok, has filed a police complaint in connection with the incident. Based on that, police have registered a case against 122 named suspects as well as 30 to 35 unidentified people on charges of murder and rioting.
Among the names mentioned in the FIR include Razzak, Imtiaz, Aman, Yunus, Shahbaz, Sharafat Ali, Masoom, Adil, Shamoon, Salman, Javed, and Intezar, PTI reported.
Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Singh Dobal told the news agency that police force was deployed in the area to maintain law and order.