NEW DELHI: One day after the main defendants in the Ballia Shot case, Dhirendra Pratap Singh, posted a video on social media claiming that he did not open fire as allegedly, he was arrested by Lucknow’s Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force on Sunday.
STF officials said Dhirendra was arrested at the Polytechnic crossing in Lucknow.
On Sunday, two more defendants identified as Amarjeet Yadav and Santosh Yadav were arrested in connection with the same incident. The duo also wore a cash prize of Rs 50,000 on their heads.
So far, six people, including the main defendant, have been arrested in the case.
On Friday, Dhirendra claimed in a viral video that he is innocent and that he was standing before Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) Suresh Chandra Pal and circle officer Chandrakesh Singh. He said he had warned officials about bad practices in allocating stores at fair prices.
He further claimed that police officers caught him while his family members were being beaten amid indiscriminate shooting by his rivals. Dhirendra claimed that he was captured by the CO, but escaped fearing a threat to his life.
He also accused the district administration and the police of taking unilateral action against him.
DIG Azamgarh, Subhash Dubey announced a 50,000 rupee cash reward in Dhirendra on Friday.
Earlier on October 15, Jaiprakash Pal was shot dead in the Durjanpur village of Ballia in public view in the presence of SDM, CO and police. The incident occurred when a dispute broke out at a meeting for the allocation of ration shops in the village of Durjanpur in the Reoti area of Ballia district.
UP CM Adityanath had learned of the matter and ordered the suspension of SDM, CO and some other officials who were present at the scene when the incident occurred.
.
