Man returning from birthday party shot dead in UP's Ballia; 9 booked, 4 policemen suspended

A 26-year-old man was shot dead in a violent clash between two groups in the Haldipur area of Ballia district, police said on Sunday. Nine people have been booked in connection with the killing, while four policemen, including two sub-inspectors, have been suspended for negligence and dereliction of duty, they said. According to police, Sunil Yadav, a native of Nirupur village, was returning from a birthday party on Saturday evening when an argument broke out between two rival groups at Raipura Dhala over an old enmity. Sunil, who was not associated with any of the group, was shot during the fight and was rushed to the district hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Superintendent of Police (SP) Omvir Singh said his body was sent for a post-mortem. Based on a complaint by the victim's father, Shiv Shankar Yadav, police booked Pankaj Rai, Laxmi Narayan Choubey, Neeraj Choubey, Shravan Dubey, and three to four unidentified persons, Bairia Circle Officer Mohammed Faheem Qureshi said. The SP said sub-inspectors Ravi Verma and Uday Pratap Singh, and head constable Arvind Yadav and constable Ajay Yadav were suspended with immediate effect for "gross negligence, indiscipline and dereliction of duty." There has been a long-standing dispute between the families of Laxmi Narayan Choubey of Chainchhapra village and Pankaj Rai of Raipura, police said. In February, cases were registered against both groups following complaints of assault over the collection of funds for Saraswati Puja. The SP said failure to act in those cases led to the flare-up, which culminated in Yadav's killing. Efforts are on to trace the accused, he said.