Lucknow, Jul 26 (IANS): Two traders were killed by unidentified assailants late on Wednesday at their shop in Pratapgarh town of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Thursday.

The situation has been tense after the brothers were murdered in Kaudhaur market.

All through the night, family members and fellow traders were up in arms against the bad law and order situation in the state.

They were squatting on the road on Thursday disrupting traffic in the area. Additional forces have been deployed, a police officer said.

Senior district officials including District Magistrate Shambhu Kumar faced a hostile crowd on Thursday when they went to talk to the two widows of the deceased traders and the family. They were forced to retreat as people raised anti-government slogans.

The District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) are camping in the market, where the agitation is still on.

They are trying to pacify the irate mob, a state home department official said.

The agitated family members are demanding immediate arrest of the killers of the two brothers -- Shyam Sunder and Shyam Murat.

They also wanted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to visit the crime scene.

Senior police officers including Inspector General Ramit Sharma and legislator of the area Sangam Lal Gupta have failed to pacify the agitators who are causing a huge congestion on the arterial roads leading up to the market.

The traffic has been diverted to prevent any kind of untoward situation around the sit-in.

The bodies of the slain brothers have been sent for post-mortem. They would be handed over to the family later in the day.