The Hindu : National : 15 gunned down in family feuds

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Saturday, Nov 18, 2006
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15 gunned down in family feuds

Atiq Khan

— Photo: Subir Roy

Grief-stricken family members of one of the deceased victims at Shankarpur in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh, where 15 persons were gunned down on Thursday/Friday.

SITAPUR: Fifteen persons, including 9 women and children, were gunned down in Shankarpur and Israula villages of Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday night and early Friday.

A visit to the villages by The Hindu team showed that the victims were shot almost at will by the assailants at different places in Shankarpur, which accounted for 12 deaths. Three others were shot dead in Israula. Senior police and administrative officials rushed to the remote and virtually inaccessible village. With the panic-stricken villagers numbed by the impact of the tragedy and fearing for the worst, heavy police force has been deployed in the villages. All entry and exit points are under close vigil. Seven platoons of the Provincial Armed Constabulary have been positioned in Shankarpur, Israula and Ghisni.

Significantly, both the deceased and the assailants were Brahmins, the multiple killings ostensibly the fallout of one group trying to establish its hegemony over the other. However, the police were groping in the dark regarding the motive of the crime. According to ASP (South), Sitapur, V.K. Mishra, the killings were the outcome of an "ego clash" between the families of Jalipa Prasad Tewari and Pramod alias Babloo Bajpai/Sadhan Mishra. Their personal enmity dated back to 1998 when Mr. Tewari's son, Anil Tewari, was shot dead. Thirteen persons, including Babloo Bajpai, were awarded life term but came come on bail in 2001. Babloo Bajpai's uncle, Prabhakar Prasad Bajpai, told The Hindu that the family patriarchs fled Shankarpur, with Mr. Tewari shifting to Bakshi-ka-Talab, near here.

The immediate cause of the provocation was reportedly an altercation between the rival groups over a two-and-a-half feet wide channel between two thatched hutments in the village on November 13. Later, they also fought over pitching a post for tying buffaloes. They also exchanged gunfire, though there was no casualty. While three persons escaped, Mr. Tewari's elder son, Jagan Babu, was arrested by the police.

While the police chose to ignore the danger warnings, the assailants struck in the house of Mr. Sadhan Mishra on Thursday night, killing his 60-year-old mother, wife and three children in the five to 11 years age group. Mr. Mishra was not at home when the crime took place. The next round of killings took place between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Friday in which seven persons were killed in Sankarpur and three others in Israula. The police suspect it to be the handiwork of Mr. Mishra and his accomplices. Since the identity of the killers was not known, only one FIR — by Mr. Mishra's daughter, Pinky, — was lodged at the Thangaon police station.

Arun Gupta, ADG, Lucknow Zone, said: "The possible motive appears too small for a crime of such magnitude. Moreover, if indeed these were revenge killings then why [did they take place{rcub} after five years of Babloo Bajpai's bail in 2001?"

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