Two accused in the violence caused in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich during a Durga Puja procession, were shot in an encounter, police said on Thursday.
Sarfaraz and Taleem, two of the accused in the killing of 22-year-old Ram Gopal Mishra at the Durga Puja procession on October 13, were shot while they were fleeing to Nepal, cops said.
The encounter took place near the Handa Basehri area of Bahraich, close to the Nepal border.
Sarfaraz and Faheem were injured in their legs. Both are sons of Abdul Hameed, the main accused in the Bahraich violence case.
The accused, injured in the encounter, have been referred to the district hospital.
A total of five people were arrested after the encounter on Thursday.
"5 people have been arrested. Two of them have been injured in police firing. I am here to assess their condition. One of the injured is Mohammed Sarfaraz, the other other is Mohammed Taleem", Bahraich SP, Vrinda Shukla said after the encounter.
SP Shukla further informed the reporters that the injured have been taken to hospital for treatment. Also, the weapon used in the incident has been recovered. "Further action is being taken. As facts emerge in the riot, further action will be taken accordingly. NSA will be invoked on the riot accused", she added.
According to the postmortem report, Ram Gopal Mishra died due to bullet injury and all speculations over the cause of his death are misleading, SP Shukla further added.
Rukhsar, the daughter of Abdul Hameed, who is a landlord in Bahraich, spoke out after her father was accused of firing at Ram Gopal Mishra.
She said that the UP Special Task Force (STF) detained her father, her two brothers and another young man at around 4 pm on Wednesday. Her husband and her brother-in-law were picked by the STF too.
"We have not received any information about them from any police station, and we fear they may be killed in an encounter!"
Meanwhile, reacting to the encounter, the Congress has attacked the UP government, saying that it is just trying to 'cover up' its failure.
"The government has been doing fake encounters since ever. They are just trying to cover up their failure", UP Congress chief Ajai Rai said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav echoed its INDIA bloc ally and hit out at the Yogi Adityanath government, raising questions over the law and order situation in the state.
"If law and order improved only through encounters, then UP would have progress in many areas by now. This is the failure of the government, the police and the administration. How will those people who are not able to manage a village event manage the law and order of the state? They talk about scaring people. All they know is do encounters and scare people", the SP chief said.
On Sunday, hundreds of people protested after clashes broke out between two groups during a Durga idol immersion procession.
The violence erupted over the playing of music during the procession, leading to the death of Mishra and several others being injured.
Clashes erupted when stones were thrown and gunshots were fired at the procession as it was passing through Bahraich's Mahsi sub-division.
During the protest, miscreants torched Lucknow Seva Hospital. The X-ray machine inside was destroyed, and the beds and windows were also damaged.
Over 50 people have been arrested in the Bahraich violence case so far.
Two days later, Ram Gopal Mishra's family members met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow along with the BJP MLA, Sureshvar Singh, and demanded strict action against the accused.
In a post on X, Yogi Adityanth also promised to "provide justice to the victim's family", while sharing a photo of the meeting.
