Dalit village council member killed in Lucknow, business partner held
Another person allegedly involved in the murder was being identified, they added. Rawat was a member of the Village Development Council of Poornpur village where he lived, said police.
A 40-year-old Dalit village development council member was run over by an SUV in Lucknow on Tuesday while he was out on a morning walk. Police have arrested his business partner, saying the two were involved in a property dispute.
The victim was identified as 40-year-old Vijay Pratap Rawat who was also a property dealer. Police identified his business partner as Manoj Yadav.
Another person allegedly involved in the murder was being identified, they added. Rawat was a member of the Village Development Council of Poornpur village where he lived, said police.
An FIR was filed at Mohanlalganj police station in Lucknow based on a complaint filed by Rawat’s wife, Rekha
“My husband had gone out for a morning walk. When he reached near the Outer Ring Road, Manoj Yadav ran over an SUV pm him. He ran the SUV over him multiple times and shot him. After that, Manoj fled the spot with Lallu Yadav,” the FIR quoted Rekha’s complaint.
Rawat died on the spot, said a police officer.
Circle Officer, Mohanlalganj, Praveen Malik said the police were yet to ascertain if Lallu was involved in the murder.
“We arrested Manoj soon after the incident. His plan was to make the murder seem like an accident. The allegation that he shot two bullets at Rawat is also being checked because there were no gunshot injuries on the body. However, we did find two empty cartridges at the crime scene and are investigating if they were from the same pistol that was recovered from Manoj after his arrest,” said Malik.
“The victim and the accused used to work together and dealt in property. A dispute erupted after Manoj bought land in Rawat’s name. The land belonged to a Dalit and could only be bought by a member of that particular community. Rawat had apparently refused to transfer the property to Yadav, and this is why Yadav killed him.”
Police have lodged a case under relevant IPC sections and provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
“The post mortem report is awaited,” said a police officer.
Demanding arrest of the accused, Rawat’s family members held a protest on the highway near their village on Tuesday.
