Allahabad: STF roped in to solve Pratapgarh lawyer murder case

ALLAHABAD: A day after the murder of advocate and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Om Mishra in Jethwara area of Pratapgarh, agitating lawyers brought traffic on all routes leading to Kutchery Road of that district to a standstill on Tuesday for several hours.

Mishra (36), a resident of Kalitpur , was shot dead by two unidentified bike-borne assailants near Sonepur Madarsa road under the limits of Jethwara police station of Pratapgarh on Monday morning when he was on his way to the district court.

Initially, his family members and lawyers did not allow the police to take the body for postmortem.

On Tuesday they staged protests in the Kutchrey Road area, bringing the traffic to a halt for several hours. However, in the evening they allowed the body to be sent for autopsy when senior police and administrative officials assured of looking into their demands, including immediate arrest of the assailants, government job for a kin of the deceased and Rs 50 lakh compensation for his family.

DIG (range) KP Singh said, “Three police teams, including the STF, have been roped in to crack the murder. Heavy police bandobast had been been made on Kutchery Road as well as in the native village of the slain lawyer.”

Police have picked up two persons for quizzing in connection with the killing.

Meanwhile, a delegation of lawyers also met state minister and in charge of Pratapgarh district Swati Singh and demanded immediate action in the matter. She reportedly assured the protesting lawyers of looking into their demands at the earliest.