Lucknow, Dec 27 (IANS): The head warden of the Pratapgarh jail in Uttar Pradesh was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants at a busy market on Thursday, police said.

The 55-year-old Hari Narayan Trivedi was buying vegetables at the Jail Road crossing when two assailants on a bike came from the railway crossing side and opened fire on him. He was shot thrice.

The assailants then waved guns, fired blanks in the air and threatened to harm the crowd before fleeing the crime scene.

The prison official had returned from his home after a two-day leave. He was rushed to a nearby medical facility where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Senior police officials, including Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Avanish Kumar Mishra, rushed to the crime scene as a forensic team was pressed into service to collect evidence, an official told IANS.

Mishra said teams have been asked to crack the case and arrest the culprits quickly.

Officials said the motive of the attack was not clear. The family of the deceased prison official has been informed. His body has been sent for post-mortem.