Apna Dal (S) leader shot dead over property dispute

PRAYAGRAJ: Apna Dal (S) leader Indrajeet Patel, 27, was shot dead by his neighbour over a land dispute at Abdalpur Khas village, under the Soraon police station in the trans-Ganga area of the district, on Sunday morning.

The victim was an LLB third-year student and the district general secretary of the legal cell of Apna Dal (S). The accused, identified as Sarvesh Singh, was arrested at the scene with two firearms and is currently being questioned, police officials said.

As per reports, the families of Indrajeet and Sarvesh had a dispute over agricultural land in the village since 2010. Villagers informed the police that both families had confronted each other several times over the issue, and had an altercation five days ago regarding the sowing of paddy on the disputed land.

On Sunday morning, Indrajeet went to water the crops on the disputed field when his neighbour, Sarvesh, followed him. Sarvesh opened fire on Indrajeet and fled the scene. Indrajeet’s family rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

DCP (trans-Ganga) Abhishek Bharti reached the spot with a force from several police stations. Sarvesh was spotted near his house with two firearms in his hands. He tried to flee while brandishing the weapons, but the police surrounded and overpowered him, police said.

Sarvesh claimed that his ancestors had given some land to Indrajeet’s family for tilling. However, Indrajeet’s family was reluctant to return the land and had sown crops despite objections.

Bharti said the accused, Sarvesh, had been arrested with two country-made pistols. Preliminary investigations suggest that he killed Indrajeet over a land dispute. Bharti added that police forces have been deployed in the village as a precautionary measure.