One killed in firing over land row in Kutch desert, 15 held

Following a brief altercation, the three persons armed with guns opened fire at the complainant and others, the FIR said.While Dinesh Koli was hit on his forehead, two others suffered bullet injuries on nose and leg.

One person was killed and three others were injured when a group of men opened fire and attacked another group in an apparent bid to capture a piece of land inside the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) in Gujarat, a police official said on Thursday.

In a video of the three-day-old incident that went viral on social media platforms on Thursday, the accused men can be seen charging towards the other group in their vehicles and then firing some rounds on them when challenged.

While the clash took place on May 13 evening inside LRK, a salt desert near Kanmer village under Rapar taluka of Kutch district, an FIR was registered at the Samakhiyari police station on May 14, said Sagar Bagmar, Superintendent of Police (Kutch-East).

''Four persons were injured in the attack, including three from bullets. Of these, one Dinesh Koli suffered a bullet injury on his forehead and was rushed to a hospital in Rajkot, where he died on Wednesday evening. We have registered an FIR and detained 15 people so far,'' he said.

The accused were booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deal with murder, rioting, unlawful assembly and under relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as the complainant is a Dalit.

The FIR has been registered on a complaint submitted by Kanmer village resident Magan Gohil, who was also injured in the clash.

As per the FIR, when Gohil and 10 other residents of Kanmer and surrounding villages were at a place which was once a salt factory, 17 persons reached there on five vehicles and warned Gohil and others to vacate the site, saying it belongs to them.

While three persons in the group that claimed ownership of the land were armed with guns, others were carrying sticks and sharp weapons, the FIR said, adding they were led by two men, Bharat Bharwad and Bharat Vaghela, both residents of Kanmer village.

The accused hurled abuses at Gohil and asked him to vacate the place. They also threatened to kill him if their orders were not followed. Following a brief altercation, the three persons armed with guns opened fire at the complainant and others, the FIR said.

While Dinesh Koli was hit on his forehead, two others suffered bullet injuries on nose and leg. When Gohil and his friend Jagsi Koli were taking Dinesh Koli to hospital on a motorcycle, the accused rammed their vehicle into the two-wheeler from behind and then thrashed Gohil with sticks, it said.

While Gohil and two others who received bullet injuries were out of danger, Dinesh Koli died while being treated at a hospital in Rajkot, police said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)