Farmers' families open fire on each other in UP's Budaun

• Three people killed and three injured in a gunfight between 2 farming families in Zarifnagar on Wed
• Farmers had a dispute over a piece of agricultural land for years, said police
• FIR will be registered once we receive complaints from both sides, SSP added

Three people, including a teenager, were killed and three injured in a gunfight between two farming families in Zarifnagar area of Budaun district on Wednesday afternoon.

A heavy police presence was deployed in the village shortly after the incident. This is the third triple murder in Bareilly division in four months.

According to the police, farmers Resham Pal Yadav and Satyendra Yadav had a dispute over a piece of agricultural land for years. Their relations became even more strained after the recently concluded elections for the head of the village.

Budaun SSP OP Singh said, "On Wednesday, the families of Reshampala, 52 and Stayendra, 30, were working in their fields when they quarreled over the election of the village head. Both sides attacked each other with sticks and later opened indiscriminate fire." Six people were taken to the district hospital where Satyendra, his nephew Jai Prakash (17) and Reshampal were declared brought dead. Hari Om, Amar Singh and Mahipal are treated.

The SSP added that some of the firearms used have been seized and police are checking whether they were licensed or illegal. "Four persons have been taken into custody and we are now interrogating them. An FIR will be registered once we receive complaints from both sides. Our priority at the moment is to maintain peace,"

SSP Singh said, Wednesday's incident is the latest in a series of triple homicides in the region. In January this year, three farmers were killed, and three others injured in a gunfight in a village on the Bareilly-Budaun border.  On 11 November 2022, former block chief Rakesh Gupta, his wife and elderly mother Shanti Devi were shot dead at their home in Budaun's Usawana area.