Dalit Man Shot Dead As Two Groups Clash Over Old Rivalry In Haryana: Cops

In an old rivalry, a 25-year-old Dalit man was shot dead and six others sustained injuries in a clash between two groups last night in Fatehpur Billoch village in Haryana's Faridabad district, police on Thursday said.

An FIR has been registered at the Sadar police station, Ballabhgarh, they said.

According to the complaint filed by Sunder Lal, a resident of Fatehpur Billoch village, the incident took place in the village around 8 pm on Wednesday when his cousin Devendra was going towards the market.

There were some youths, including Om Prakash, Shiv, Dheeraj, Dilip, Krishna, Dhruv, Mangeram, Shamsher Singh, Jagdish alias Chhotu, Laxman and their relatives, standing on the way who attacked Devendra, Mr Lal said in his complaint.

"He had a fight with them in 2010. They stopped Devendra midway and called him caste related words. When Devendra protested, they started beating him. After this the quarrel continued to escalate and members of both sides reached the spot, the accused opened fire on Devendra and he died on the spot. After this they did not stop the firing and one Babulal was also shot in his jaw and he was rushed to the hospital," Lal said.

Six others were also seriously injured in this fight. There is an atmosphere of panic in the Dalit community after the fight, he added.

An FIR was registered following the complaint under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including murder and the SC/ST Act at the Sadar police station, Ballabhgarh, on Thursday, police said.

A senior police officer said that they handed over the body to the family after the post-mortem and added further probe is underway.

The accused, who are absconding, will be arrested soon, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)