UP: Armed men open fire at trader brothers, 1 dead, another hurt

PRAYAGRAJ: Motorcycle-borne unidentified armed miscreants opened fire on two brothers, both traders, who were at their shops at the time of the attack. The miscreants fled the site after allegedly looting Rs 2 lakh cash. The incident took place in Pandetara village under Fatanpur police station of Pratapagrh on Friday. One of the brothers died shortly after sustaining a bullet injury, while the other one is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Prayagraj, police said.
Brijesh Singh, elder brother of both victims, claimed that the criminals also took away Rs 2 lakh in cash that was in the shop at the time of the incident. However, the police did not confirmed involvement of loot in the incident and said that investigation is underway to find all facts related to the case.
SP-Pratapagrh Akash Tomar said that an FIR in connection with the crime has been registered. “Investigation has begun. Police teams led by additional SP and Circle Officer of Raniganj are working to identify and arrest the criminals involved in the incident,” he said.
28-year-old Akhilesh Singh, a resident of Pandetara village under Fatanpur police station had a general merchant shop beside a RO water plant in his village. On Friday evening, while he and his younger brother Umesh Singh, 25, were at their shop located on the main Fatanpur road like any other day, unidentified armed miscreants on two bikes opened fire at the brothers before managing to flee the site unchallenged towards Prem Nagar.
Family members and locals informed the police about the incident who then rushed both the injured brothers first to a nearby community health centre and then to the newly set up medical college of Pratapagrh. Doctors here declared Akhilesh Singh as brought dead and referred Umesh to a hospital in Prayagraj for treatment.