Daijiworld Media Network – Pilibhit

Pilibhit, Oct 13: Three people were killed and another injured after a dispute over the income and expenditure of a Ramlila fair turned violent in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday evening, and the prime accused has been arrested.

According to police, the clash broke out during a meeting convened to review the previous year’s financial accounts of the fair and discuss the formation of a new committee. An argument over the accounts escalated into a heated confrontation, during which members of one group allegedly opened fire, killing two people on the spot.

The deceased have been identified as Kunal Srivastava (18), Ankit Gupta (30) and Mohit Gupta (38). Ankit and Mohit were brothers. While Ankit and Kunal died at the scene after being shot in the chest, Mohit succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Bareilly during treatment, Circle Officer (Jahanabad) Natasha Goyal told PTI.

Superintendent of Police Sukirti Madhav said the prime accused, Kaushal Gupta, had been arrested. Police said no complaint had been received from the families of the deceased at the time of the statement.

Ankit, who was an office-bearer of the previous year’s mela committee, had called the meeting on Monday night at the house of one of the committee members. The meeting was intended to review the fair’s income and expenditure for the previous year and discuss the formation of a new committee.

According to police, Kaushal was seeking a position on the new committee and questioned the financial accounts, triggering an argument. Ankit and Kunal reportedly objected to his conduct and maintained that the expenses had been properly accounted for. The disagreement soon escalated into violence.

Police alleged that Kaushal and his associates opened fire during the confrontation. Ankit and Kunal sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and died on the spot.

Mohit and another person, identified as Rohit, were injured in the firing. They were initially taken to a hospital and later referred to Bareilly for further treatment. Mohit subsequently died, while Rohit was reported injured.

Police said tension prevailed in Amariya following the incident and additional personnel had been deployed to maintain law and order.