In yet another horrific incident in Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit gram pradhan’s husband was severely assaulted and later set on fire by a group of miscreants in Amethi on Thursday night.

As per reports, Bandoiya village pradhan Chhotka’s husband Arjun Kori (45) went to buy vegetables from a market place near Munshiganj on Thursday evening. There he was accosted by six political rivals and brutally thrashed. Not satisfied with the punishment, the assailants later set him afire causing serious burn injuries.

When he did not return home, his son Surendra Kumar headed to the market and found his injured father lying by the roadside. After treatment at a local hospital, the family was rushing the victim to KGMU Trauma Centre in Lucknow, where he succumbed on Friday morning.

Surendra said that before dying his father had revealed the names of four assailants, who beat him up, gagged him before torching him. On the possible motive for the murderous assault, he said that Arjun Kori had developed a strong support base in the area which perturbed his opponents and he was attacked over electoral rivalry.

Later, based on the a complaint lodged by the victim’s family, the police registered a case of murder against Krishna Kumar and five others and three suspects were detained by the police for interrogation.

Elsewhere in Moradabad, a 45-year-old murder accused, who jumped bail and went missing for 23 years was finally arrested from a hotel on Thursday.

A case of murder was lodged against Keshav in 1996 after which he was arrested and sent to jail. A year later, he procured bail and was released from jail. Keshav soon jumped bail and did the vanishing act. He started working at a hotel with a fake identity. Numerous warrants were issued for him to be present in the court which were not complied with. The police started looking for him and learnt that he was working at a hotel with a fake identity. Subsequently, a police team raided the place and arrested him.