By IANS,
Lucknow : An engineer was killed and another injured when unknown assailants opened fire at them in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Sunday.
The incident took place in the Dhanakpur locality of Mainpuri late Saturday evening when Vijendra and Dhirendra, both working as engineers for Reliance Communications, were returning to Etawah on a motorcycle.
“Unknown assailants opened fire at the duo from behind. Dhirendra died on the spot. Vijendra received bullet injuries on his hand and is being treated in hospital,” Superintendent of Police S.R.S. Aditya told IANS on phone.
Recounting the incident, Vijendra told reporters: “We were going back to Etawah when some people opened fire at us. We fell down and the assailants escaped. I rushed to a house on the roadside and asked for help.”
Dhirendra stayed in Kanpur while Vijendra is a native of Etawah.
The killing of the engineer comes almost three months after the murder of Public Works Department (PWD) engineer M.K. Gupta, who was allegedly killed by Bahujan Samaj Party legislator Shekhar Tiwari and his henchmen for refusing to contribute Rs.5 million (Rs.50 lakh) for Chief Minister Mayawati’s birthday bash.
Condemning the incident, the opposition Samajwadi Party has charged that the law and order situation in the state under the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has become grim.
“Last year in December, a PWD engineer was beaten to death by a BSP legislator. We suspect that this incident is also related to some kind of extortion by the Mayawati government,” Samajwadi Party state president Shivpal Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.