india

Updated: Aug 14, 2019 14:51 IST

A 27-year-old constable of Uttar Pradesh (UP) police was shot dead by unidentified men at a roadside eatery in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district on late on Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday.

The constable, identified as Mayank Katariya, was a resident of Gadarpur in US Nagar but was posted in UP’s Pilibhit district, according to police. Initial investigation shows Katariya was killed on Gadarpur road area, about 7km away from Rudrapur town, over a property dispute, they added.

“He was having dinner at a local dhaba in the area at around 9pm when the incident happened,” a police official said while speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.

Katariya had come home three days ago on leave to look after his unwell mother.

“While he was having his dinner, the three unidentified assailants came on a motorbike to the dhaba. They came to him and engaged him in a conversation for about 10 minutes. It was then, one of them suddenly took out a firearm and fired at him twice at point-blank range,” said the official.

Confirming the incident, US Nagar’s senior superintendent of police Barinderjit Singh said Katariya sustained bullet injuries on his head and neck.

“He collapsed on the ground in a pool of blood. The accused had fled the scene by then.”

“The police was informed by the dhaba owner after which they reached the spot and rushed him to a nearby police station where doctors declared him brought dead. The reason behind the murder is suspected to be an old property dispute,” said Singh.

The senior police official added that four teams have been formed to nab the absconding accused.

“Meanwhile, police are inspecting the CCTV footage of the area and questioning the people present the time of the incident,” he said.