Mainpuri, Dec 30 (IANS): A man in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri gave up his life in trying to save a dog from a bullet.

The incident took place in Nagla Penth village.

Deepak Saxena, 25, was working in a farm in the village when he saw Radhe Shyam Yadav, 35, open fire at a dog playing there.

While the dog dodged the first bullet, the second would have pinned him had Saxena not intervened to save the animal. Seeing his 'target practice' go awry, a furious Yadav then trained his gun on Saxena, killing the latter on the spot.

According to residents, Saxena would have been alive had he not tried to save the dog and avoided confrontation with Yadav, a known goon in the area.

Yadav had reached the farm in an inebriated condition where Saxena was working along with 10 other labourers.

Saxena is survived by his wife, Nisha.

The victim's father, Indrapal Saxena, said "My son was murdered in cold blood and now Yadav's family members are threatening us to come to a settlement, warning us not to pursue the matter further. Our life is in danger. We might have to leave the village."

Superintendent of Police (SP), Mainpuri, Kamlesh Kumar Dixit said: "The body (of Saxena) has been sent for post-mortem. On the basis of a complaint received from the victim's family, an FIR has been registered against Radhe Shyam Yadav under IPC section 302 (murder)."

Three teams have been tasked to arrest the accused, who is on the run, added the SP.