Panchayat president shot dead in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district (Representational image)

A panchayat president in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Monday evening.

Shiv Pratap Singh alias Bablu, 45, was sitting outside his house in Renukoot when some unidentified people came and fired at him, police said.



Initial probe report suggests rivalry behind the killing, said police.

"We received the information that Shiv Pratap Singh has been attacked by a group of men at around 10:30 pm. We immediately rushed to the spot. We have taken CCTV footage from near the incident site and are trying to ascertain if those men present in the video are the culprits," senior police officer of Sonbhadra, Prabhakar Chaudhary said.

After reaching the spot, police found Mr Singh in a pool of blood and took him to a nearby hospital where he was given first aid. However, the doctors referred him to Trauma Centre in Varanasi.

"He died while being treated at the Trauma Centre," Mr Chaudhury said.

An FIR was registered by the victim's relative Avnish Singh against six persons, including former Nagar Panchyat Chairman Anil Singh, police officer OP Singh said.



No arrests have been made so far in this connection, but the police is investigating the matter and a search is on to arrest the accused.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)