Lucknow: Diwali will never be the same again for Ramjeet Yadav and his family in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur.
His 17-year-old son’s head was chopped off with a sword in a fight over a piece of land in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur on Wednesday, PTI reported citing police.
Teenager Anurag, a taekwondo player, paid the ultimate price for a tussle between his father and fellow-villager Lalta Yadav.
“Ramesh Yadav, son of Lalta Yadav, began clearing the disputed land this morning that flared up the tension. During the confrontation, Ramesh attacked Anurag Yadav, son of Ramjeet Yadav, with a sword and decapitated him,” Superintendent of Police Ajaypal Sharma said.
An NDTV report, quoting eyewitnesses, said that Anurag’s attacker swung the sword with such force that the teenager’s head was separated from the torso.
Villagers said the boy’s mother sat with the severed head in her lap for several hours.
Several police teams were sent to the spot to prevent law and order situation from deteriorating.
Police have arrested Lalta, but is still searching for the main culprit Ramesh.
According to Jaunpur district magistrate Dinesh Chandra, the violent and fatal altercation was the culmination of an old land dispute between the two parties, with the case pending in the civil court.
“I have asked for a report on the dispute within three days. Harsh punishment will be given to those behind the incident,” Chandra told NDTV.
Condemning the incident, the Opposition attacked the Yogi Adityanath-led government.
“There is a strange contradictory relationship between today’s government and crime. On one hand, both are together, on the other hand, the weaker and more inactive the government is becoming, the more powerful and active the criminals are becoming. Today’s UP says we don’t want BJP,” Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X.
Bhim army chief Chandra Shekhar called for harsh punishment of the culprits.
“The brutal murder of Taekwondo player Anurag Yadav in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh is extremely sad and punishable. My condolences are with the family. May nature give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” Chandra wrote on X.
