A 24-year-old youth having an affair with an older married woman was critically injured after he opened fire at himself ,allegedly to commit suicide, in Banda on Tuesday.

He made an attempt on his life after facing objections over his love affair from his family members.

The victim was rushed to a local hospital from where he was referred to the medical college hospital after his condition became critical.

The police registered a case in this regard and were making further probe.

Reports said that Shubham Singh, a native of Chitrakoot, was staying with his sister for the last several years and looked after her work in Banda. It is said that the youths’ sister is a district panchayat member from the Bharatiya Janata Party. While staying in Banda, the youth fell in love with a mother of two children through Instagram and the love grew so much that both went missing last Thursday.

The family members of the woman lodged a report in this regard with the local police. The cops, with the help of surveillance traced the location of the youth’s mobile phone and recovered both on Sunday night and handed them over to their families after both the sides reached an agreement and said they did not want any further action in the case.

After this, both of them were sent by the police to their respective homes.

On Monday, Shubham Singh allegedly shot himself with his brother-in-law's licensed revolver in a bid to commit suicide. The bullet hit his stomach. The relatives admitted him to a local medical facility from where he was referred to the medical college hospital.

Additional Superintendent of Police in Banda, Laxmi Niwas Mishra, who visited the spot, claimed that they were trying to confirm what transpired in the family after returning from the police station that the youth made an attempt on his life. Mishra said that only after the reconciliation agreement between the two, both were allowed to go back home.

Meanwhile, the Bareilly police rescued a minor girl who had eloped and married according to Hindu rituals in a temple with the support of a priest and a group of right-wing activists.

The police found that the girl was a minor and 16 years old as per her academic records. Her 'husband belongs to another faith.

She was produced before a local court on Monday where the girl insisted that she was 21 years old. She also refused to undergo a medical examination. She told the court that she wanted to live with her husband and did not want to go back to her mother.

Later, the court sent her to a women's shelter home in Bareilly till further orders.

The “husband” is, however, absconding.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Taufeeq Pradhan said that the girl's mother had approached him and they went to the police which verified the academic records of the girl to ascertain her age.

Pradhan told reporters, "We verified the girl's real age and the police have rescued her. She is a minor and does not understand the primary motive behind this ‘marriage’.”

Meanwhile, Rajeev Singh, Station House Officer of the Cantonment police station, said, "The girl's mother had lodged an FIR under sections of abduction and we have rescued the girl.”

He said that the minor was in a relationship with a man from her village and had eloped with him on January 13. They then got married in a temple in Bareilly the same day. The priest, who is a leader of Hindu Samaj Party, and other members of a right-wing group helped the couple get married. Videos of the wedding along with the statement of the girl were widely shared on social media after the marriage ceremony.

The SHO said, "Police cannot press any criminal charges against the priest as the girl has not given any statement against him. If it is revealed during investigation that he and the others helped in the abduction of the girl, then we will take appropriate action."