Mainpuri (The Hawk): A man in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, gave his life while attempting to save a puppy from a bullet.
The tragedy happened in the village of Nagla Penth.
Radhe Shyam Yadav, 35, opened fire at a dog playing in a farm where Deepak Saxena, 25, was working when he noticed it.
The second gunshot would have pinned the dog if Saxena hadn't stepped in to save it, but the dog avoided the first one. As soon as Yadav realised his "target practise" had failed, he turned his attention on Saxena and shot him dead on the spot.
Locals claim that Saxena would still be alive if he had not attempted to save the dog and avoided conflict with Yadav, a notorious thug in the neighbourhood.
Saxena and 10 other labourers were working at the property when Yadav, who was drunk, arrived.
Saxena leaves behind his wife Nisha.
Indrapal Saxena, the victim's father, said "My son was brutally murdered, and now Yadav's family is pressuring us to settle and advising us not to pursue the case further. Our safety is in jeopardy. We might need to leave the community."
Kamlesh Kumar Dixit, the Mainpuri Police Superintendent (SP), said: "Saxena's body has been sent for a post-mortem. An FIR under IPC section 302 (murder) has been filed against Radhe Shyam Yadav as a result of a complaint from the victim's relatives."
The SP said, "Three teams have been assigned to apprehend the accused, who is on the run."
(Inputs from Agencies)