Communal tension prevailed at Tanda town in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday following the murder of a trader, Ram Mohan Gupta, late Wednesday night. The Ambedkar Nagar district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party called a bandh at Tanda to protest the killing. Three persons have been detained for interrogation.
Five companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and two companies of the Rapid Action Force have been deployed in the communally sensitive town, which witnessed violence in March this year following the killing of Ram Babu Gupta, district president of the Hindu Yuva Vahini and uncle of Ram Mohan Gupta.
Shot at point-blank rangeInspector-General (Law and Order) Raj Kumar Vishwakarma told journalists that Ram Mohan Gupta (30) was shot by three unidentified assailants riding a motorcycle. One of the assailants, who barged into his medical store at the Hans crossing, shot him with a 32-bore pistol.
As news spread, angry relatives and BJP workers brought the body to the streets and staged a chakka jam , which was lifted following police intervention. After autopsy, the last rites were performed under heavy security.
Mr. Vishwakarma said the police were trying to find out whether there was a link between the killings of the uncle and the nephew. Two persons, Irfan and Mukul Misra, were arrested in connection with the March 3 murder of Ram Babu Gupta and police investigations revealed that it was the fallout of a land dispute. Now Irfan, who was released on bail, and two others, Shahid and Rehman, have been detained.
The police are also looking into the role of the local Samajwadi Party MLA, Azimul alias Pahelwan, in Wednesday’s crime, the IG said.
