Lucknow, Aug 9 (IANS) Armed dacoits Thursday attacked the house of a village headman, killing him and four members of the family and leaving four others injured in Uttar Pradesh's Chitrakoot district, police said.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Chitrakoot Prem Chandra told IANS that the incident took place in Doda village of the Markudi region of the district, 234 km from here
The armed dacoits, apparently from the Balkhadia gang of dacoits, attacked the headman Durga Prasad's house early the morning, firing indiscriminately on sleeping members of the family before fleeing.
Villagers, hearing the gun shots, rushed to the house only to find profusely bleeding men and women. Police was called immediately and the injured were rushed to a nearby medical facility.
The village head and two others of his family died on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.
The dead have been identified as Durga Prasad, 45, Sunil, 25, Manita, 24, Ludhaiya, 60 and Golu, 14. The injured include Ram Niranjan, Laxmi and Roshni.
While heavy police force has been camping in the village since afternoon, angry villagers late evening blocked the highway to demand immediate arrest of the assailants.
After the officials failed to persuade the villagers to clear the jam, police resorted to a mild cane charge and fired in the air to disperse the crowd.
Police said that the situation was tense and the government was closely monitoring the situation.
