Youth shot dead in Chhatarpur:Accused opened fire after jail release; victim’s family protests outside hospital

A young man, identified as Santosh Patel, was shot in Kota village under the Rajnagar police station area of Chhatarpur district on Sunday. He was rushed to the district hospital, located around 18 kilometres away, by family members on a motorcycle. Doctors declared him dead on arrival. Following the confirmation of death, angry relatives placed the body outside the hospital gate and staged a protest, leading to chaos on the premises for some time. Police personnel present at the hospital attempted to move the body to the mortuary, but the family accused the police of negligence and refused to cooperate. This led to a brief scuffle between police personnel and the victim’s relatives inside the hospital campus. Police intervention, body sent to mortuary As the situation escalated, Civil Lines CSP Arun Kumar Soni, the Civil Lines police station in-charge, and additional police force reached the spot. After prolonged discussions and persuasion, the family agreed, and the body was shifted to the mortuary. Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police Agam Jain announced a reward of ₹10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the main accused. Eight police teams have been formed to trace those involved in the crime, and three suspects have been taken into police custody so far. Dispute over temple land The deceased’s younger brother, Ramdayal Patel, said the murder was linked to a long-standing dispute over land that their grandfather had donated to a temple. He claimed tensions had existed for a long time regarding the same land. According to him, about a month ago, the accused had opened fire outside their house and issued death threats before fleeing. Accused allegedly opened fire after release on bail Family members alleged that police had earlier registered a case against four individuals in connection with the earlier firing incident. Three were arrested and sent to jail, while one accused had remained absconding. They further claimed that the same accused was released from jail on the day of the incident and subsequently shot Santosh Patel. The family also alleged that after the murder, their house was again targeted with gunfire, creating panic in the village. They accused the police of failing to take timely and effective action. SP assures swift action SP Agam Jain confirmed that a shooting incident resulting in death had taken place in the Rajnagar police station area. He said special teams have been deployed to track down the accused and police presence has been strengthened in the village. He assured that all those involved would be arrested soon.