UP: Youth lynched after man shot dead over molestation

A violent clash between two groups over alleged molestation of a girl from SC community claimed two lives on Monday in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur district, about 175 kilometres from here.

According to the police sources here, Santosh Gupta, a resident of Jamuhi village in the district, had allegedly molested an SC girl from the same village a few days back.

The family of the victim had approached the cops then but the latter did not take any action. A minor clash had occurred then also in which two persons had sustained injuries.

The brother of the victim, identified as Sonu Kumar, was allegedly shot dead by Santosh after an altercation over the same matter near Roza market in the district.

Enraged over the killing, a mob, comprising family members and kin of Sonu, attacked Santosh's house and thrashed his brother Maya Prakash with sticks and lathis. Prakash was rushed to the district hospital but was declared brought dead, sources said.

Several persons were injured in the clash, which triggered tension in the village as it involved members of two different castes, police sources said.

Security personnel in strength had been deployed in the village and senior officials were camping there to monitor the situation. A case was registered in this regard and efforts were on to nab the accused persons.

Senior police officials said that stern action would be taken if it was found that the cops had failed to act, when the alleged molestation had taken place.