Mulayam Singh Yadav's relative Saurabh Yadav accused of double murder in Etah
The incident took place at Nagaria-Gulabpur, where Saurabh was reportedly trying to grab about 15 bigha of land belonging to Sultan Singh Yadav, a BJP supporter.
In what could come as a major embarrassment to Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose fate will be sealed in electronic voting machines on Thursday, his close relative sparked bloodbath in Etah, leading to the murder of two persons. The incident happened on Tuesday night, said the police.
While the fate of the SP is at stake in Etah, Etawah, Firozabad, Mainpuri and Kannauj, which go to polls on Thursday, the criminal act of Saurabh Yadav has left the Yadav family red-faced. Saurabh is the son-in-law of Lakhan Singh Yadav, the maternal uncle of Chief Minister Akhilesh.
The incident took place at Nagaria-Gulabpur, where Saurabh was reportedly trying to grab about 15 bigha of land belonging to Sultan Singh Yadav, a BJP supporter. Sultan and his cousin Dinesh Yadav were killed in the incident.
"It is my land and we have been doing agricultural activities here for decades. But Saurabh used his influence and fraudulently got the land registered in the names of his family members. Some revenue department officers have helped him in this fraud. So we moved the court, where the case was pending. Since there was standing wheat crop, the local administration allowed us to cut it. While we were doing harvesting, Saurabh arrived with his henchmen in five SUVs and set the crop on fire. When we opposed, he and his men opened fired at us. The policemen deployed for his security also fired at us," said Dhruv Yadav, one of the injured.
He said Mulayam's relative is a known land-grabber in the area. "He is eyeing this particular land because it is along the Grand Trunk Road. He is known for creating disputes over the ownership of prime land in the district with the help of government officers. He pressures the actual owner to sell it to him at a throwaway price," said Raj Kumar Yadav, a family member of the deceased.
Amit Pathak, senior superintendent of police, said, "The accused and his security guard have been arrested. Manhunt is on to nab others. We have booked them under Section 302 of the IPC for killing two persons."