A village head was on Thursday shot dead over a water dispute following which enraged villagers retaliated by burning alive one of the attackers here.
Rakesh, the sarpanch of Hayatpur village, was shot dead by four men over an alleged water dispute in Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi, joint commissioner of police Alok Mittal said.
The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, he said.
Following the incident, enraged villagers nabbed one of the alleged assailants and thrashed him. They poured petrol over him and set him afire, the police said, adding that he died on the spot.
The Haryana police announced a reward of `50,000 for the arrest of the main accused whose name is also Rakesh.
State Director General of Police Ranjiv Dalal said that 10 teams had been constituted to nab the main accused as well as two other persons, who had attacked the sarpanch. These teams were conducting raids at different places, he said in Chandigarh.
According to Mittal, the accused Rakesh had called three persons from outside the village to kill the sarpanch. After killing the sarpanch, they were trying to escape, but one of them was nabbed by the villagers.
As soon as Gurgaon police came to know of the incident, a team from the Sector 10 police station reached the village and tried to save the person who was set afire, Mr Mittal said. He was rushed to general hospital, Gurgaon. Mr Mittal said that adequate number of police force has been posted at village Hayatpur and the situation was under control.
DGP Dalal said that action as per law would be taken against those who had set the man on fire.
“Nobody will be allowed to take law in their hands,” the DGP said.
On reaching the village, the police had to face the wrath of locals who were angry that policemen had arrived late at the spot.
Some police officials received minor injuries in the ensuing scuffle.
Meanwhile, more policemen have been posted in the village to avoid further clashes. Senior police officials were on the spot in the village. —PTI