Amethi tense after youth shot dead in broad daylight

One person was killed and another injured in Amethi on Tuesday when bike-borne assailants opened fire near a private bank, triggering tension in the area.

The assailants fled after firing many rounds in the air.

Superintendent of Police (SP) K.K. Gehlot has suspended the station house officer (SHO) of Jagdishpur for dereliction of duty as the incident happened a few meters away from the police station.

The deceased has been identified as Ashfaq and the injured has been identified as Satai, who was former village head of Shankarganj.

Angry locals surrounded the community health centre (CHC) where the injured is being treated.

They staged a demonstration and protested against the state government and district administration. Senior police and district officials along with heavy police deployment were at the crime scene, an official said.

Prima facie, police said the incident appears to be a case of an old rivalry stemming from a land dispute. All major entry and exit points into the district have been sealed in hunt for the culprits, the official added.

Prohibitory orders have been clamped under section 144 of the IPC which bars gathering of more than four people at public places.

Locals have downed shutters and the situation is tense. Amethi is the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

--IANS

md/rn