Lawyer hacked to death in Haryana

A lawyer was brutally hacked to death in full public view in Haryana's Fatehabad town Saturday during a government auction of a piece of disputed land.

Police said that the lawyer, S.K. Bansal, was attacked with swords and other sharp-edged weapons in full public view by a group of people at the Fatehabad panchayat bhawan. The victim bled to death even as the assailants escaped from the spot.

Police officials said that Bansal was attacked by a group which was upset with him over a land dispute. The disputed land was recently ordered to be auctioned by a court in Fatehabad town, 300 km from here.

When Bansal was attacked and killed, the auction proceedings had just begun.

Police have booked Vijay Kumar, his son Ravi and four others in this case. No arrests have been made so far.

Bansal was attacked by the same group in 2009 and he had got a case registered against them. The accused were convicted recently by a court and Basal was apparently killed to take revenge, said police.