Murder in a Dehradun village triggers violence between two communities; heavy security deployed

AWild collide skint come out betwixt two communities in the Bairagiwala village in Dehradun district in Uttarakhand, wherein a man was killed and three seriously injured.While the police have pointed to a water row as the trigger, the family of the deceased has claimed a money dispute as the reason. The dispute, which took place on Saturday, escalated after a disagreement between two groups led to stone-pelting, arson and retaliatory violence, ANI news agency reported.A case was registered against three accused and 25 unidentified individuals, with the village remaining on alert. Heavy security was deployed after an angry mob allegedly targeted houses of the accused and set a house on fire after the death of one person. The residence of one of the accused was also demolished in the presence of police and district administration officials.Also Read | ‘Nails pulled out, genitals wounded’: 5 shocking details in Dalit teen's murder in UttarakhandWhat do we know about the clashes?The clash broke out on Saturday evening between members of two communities over a water dispute, police said, according to an earlier HT report.According to a complaint lodged by Ashok Kumar, a resident of Bairagiwala, an ongoing disagreement over irrigation water between the deceased's family and a neighbouring farmer was the reason for the dispute. The complainant alleged that at around 6.30 pm on Saturday, the farmer arrived at the victim's house along with 35-40 people armed with sticks and hammers and attacked members of the family.The victim sustained fatal injuries in the assault, according to the FIR. After his death, a group of protestors allegedly set fire to the house of the main suspect in Bairagiwala. Following this, police personnel were deployed in the area “to prevent any law-and-order situation”, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pramendra Dobhal said.Deceased's father refuses to move son's body, claims money-related row led to clashThe deceased's father, meanwhile, alleged that his son was killed after being attacked during a money-related confrontation linked to an earlier dispute.“I wasn't there. There wasn't actually a fight right then. The conversation about money had taken place the day before. The lad had ₹14,000. He must have asked for the money yesterday. When he gave the money today, he was killed,” the father told ANI. “If the police do not take action, we will not let the dead body leave this place,” the father added.Dehradun SP (Crime) Jitendra Chaudhary said the police was searching for the rest of the accused, adding that they would be arrested soon. “We are currently registering a case based on the formal complaint lodged by the family members, and further action will follow. Separate police teams have been formed,” ANI cited SP Chaudhary as saying.