In a sensational murder, the former pradhan of Khanpur in Wazirganj block of Gonda was brutally hacked to death in mysterious circumstances. The police recovered his body in pieces on Saturday morning.

The police suspect illicit relations to be behind the killing.

Reports said that the Balrampur police were tipped off that some pieces of a body were seen in the river Rapti on Saturday morning. The cops rushed to the spot and found that the victim had been brutally hacked somewhere else and his body was dumped in the river to conceal the crime.

The police registered a case and sent the body for post-mortem. The cops also flashed a wireless message in an attempt to find out the identity of the victim.

They got success when the neighbouring Gonda police informed them that one Varun aka Mantu Singh, former pradhan of Khanpur, having similar identity to that of the victim with similar clothes was missing since Thursday night.

The Gonda police also informed the Balrampur cops that they had traced the whereabouts of Mantu with the help of his mobile and found his last location in Gilaula locality of Balrampur after which the phone was switched off.

Later, the Gonda police took the family members of Mantu who identified the body.

The police are now looking for Pappu aka Krishna Kaushal, a resident of Padav Nawabganj area of Gonda, against whom the family of Mantu has lodged a FIR, suspecting his hand behind the killing.

Meanwhile, a 40-year-old man was sprayed with bullets in broad daylight in Pratapgarh.

Reports said that Brijesh Kumar Mishra, hailing from Mishrapur Madhopur area of Kandhai in Pratapgarh, having criminal past had informed the police about threat to his life and also that he was attacked twice by his rival. He had lodged a report about the attacks.

Brijesh’s family members alleged that as the local police were hand-in-gloves with the attackers,  taking advantage, they once again struck on Saturday morning and fired at least a dozen rounds in full public view, killing Brijesh on the spot.

They later escaped from the spot.

The local police registered a case in this regard and claimed to be making efforts to nab the assailants.