A man allegedly shot his 16-year-old daughter dead and critically injured her male friend after losing his temper upon seeing them together at an eatery in the Devgaon area of Azamgarh district on Friday. Police said the accused is absconding.
Before he shot them with his licensed pistol, the man allegedly beat up his daughter and her 20-year-old male friend while they ran for refuge even as his wife, visitors and staff tried to save them.
While the girl died on the way to the hospital, the 20-year-old is undergoing treatment at BHU Hospital in Varanasi.
Superintendent of Police (SP), Azamgarh, Anil Kumar told The Indian Express that the man carried out the attack in a fit of anger.
On Friday after school, police said the girl and her male friend — who is her distant relative — came to a roadside eatery. They were sitting there when the girl’s mother arrived and objected to them meeting.
Suddenly, the girl’s father entered the eatery and started beating them up, SP Kumar said.
He said the girl’s mother, other diners and eatery staff were trying to rescue the duo when the accused whipped out his licensed pistol and fired, aiming at his daughter and the man.
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The gunfire triggered panic inside the eatery, with people rushing outside. By the time the accused emptied the pistol’s magazine, the girl and her friend were lying in a pool of blood, the SP said.
Local residents told the police that while the assailant fled the scene hurling expletives, the girl’s mother and passersby took the two injured victims to a nearby government hospital. As both had suffered critical bullet injuries, the hospital arranged an ambulance and took them to BHU in Varanasi for further treatment.
SP Kumar said the girl was declared dead on arrival at the Varanasi hospital. As of now, the condition of the 20-year-old is stable.
Police teams are trying to trace the accused, who runs a ‘Grahak Sewa Kendra’ which provides banking-related services to residents, Kumar added.
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Police said the girl’s parents were aware of her relationship with the man but were against it.
