Prime accused in Meher murder shot at; on the run

Lucknow, Mar 29 (UNI) Lucknow Police today shot at and wounded Sachin Pahari -- prime accused in the sensational Meher Bhargava murder case.

Pahari managed to give police a slip despite a bullet wound.

''The area is crowded and our teams are trying to nail him,'' SSP (Lucknow) Ashutosh Pandey said here.

Mr Pandey said the encounter took place around 1430 hrs near a bakery in the crowded Kaiserbagh area. Sachin, accompanied by six members of his gang was challenged.

''We shot him, but he managed to enter a crowded bylane...we are checking all nursing homes and hospitals in the vicinity,'' Mr Pandey added.

The SSP said Sachin has a major clout in the area. ''He has contracts of some parking stands and knows a lot of people,'' he said.

The police have managed to apprehend one of his gang members. The SSP said he would disclose more details after interrogating him.

Meanwhile, local police also raided the Old Councillors' Residence (OCR) building to nab Sachin. He had been using one of the flats to make phone calls. No one, however, was arrested from the building.

Mr Pandey said Sachin was in the state capital for the past four days.

Meher was shot at by miscreants in the busy Hazratganj area -- barely few yards away from the SSP residence -- when she objected to lewd remarks passed on her daughter-in-law.

She was partially paralysed following the bullet wound and breathed last at a hospital in the national capital.

Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has assured speedy action against the prime accused. Soon after Yadav's visit, the police suspended senior SI and Investigating Officer Dinesh Chandra Dubey and SI K M Rai.

Mr Yadav also asked the IG (Zone), Lucknow, to ensure expedient action, which was followed by the arrest of one K D Singh under charges of harbouring the assailants.

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