A 35-year-old Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death in front of his 10-year-old daughter on a national highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, police said on Friday. Preliminary investigations suggest that the murder was linked to a long-standing dispute between two families.
The victim, identified as Manoj Gautam, was returning home from a local market with his daughter on Thursday evening when a group of men intercepted and assaulted him near Ludhaura village, under the Kamlapur police station area.
Gautam’s family took him to a community health centre in Kasmanda, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Four Accused Arrested in Sitapur Murder Case
Sitapur Superintendent of Police Ankur Agarwal said an FIR had been registered against six people, including two women, under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Four accused have been arrested, including Shubham Singh, Dhirendra Singh and Narendra Singh, the police said. Four police teams have been formed to trace and arrest the remaining accused.
Police said the investigation was underway to establish the circumstances surrounding the killing.
Victim Had Earlier Filed Case Under SC/ST Act
According to the police, Gautam had previously filed a case against the accused under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The two sides had also reportedly been involved in a verbal altercation on Wednesday, a day before Gautam was killed.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the killing was connected to the long-standing rivalry between the two families. Police are investigating the case, including the events leading up to the assault.
