NSUI office-bearer Sonu Parochia shot dead in MP, two arrested in C'garh

The killing, a fallout of some past enmity, took place during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the Madhya Pradesh police said. "Sonu Parochia, local office-bearer of NSUI, was returning home after celebrating the birthday of his uncle at a roadside eatery in a suburban area of Mandla," Additional Superintendent of Police Vikram Singh Kushwaha said.

A 28-year-old leader of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the Congress's student wing, was shot dead at Mandla in Madhya Pradesh, following which two men were arrested in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, officials said. The killing, a fallout of some past enmity, took place during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, the Madhya Pradesh police said.

"Sonu Parochia, local office-bearer of NSUI, was returning home after celebrating the birthday of his uncle at a roadside eatery in a suburban area of Mandla," Additional Superintendent of Police Vikram Singh Kushwaha said. Accused Mayur Happy Yadav (30) fled from the spot after the crime, he said.

"As per the preliminary information, Parochia's two- wheeler was hit by Yadav's car. Yadav allegedly opened fire on Parochia who died on the spot," Kushwaha said. Parochia was accompanied by two friends when the incident occurred, he added.

NSUI's district president, Akhilesh Thakur, said that Parochia was the general secretary of the Mandla district unit. He said that the accused hails from Jabalpur and has been living in Mandla for the last five to six years. "We had complained to the police against him on several occasions," he said.

Hours later, the Chhattisgarh police arrested Mayur Yadav (32) and Piyush Maravi from Gudhiyari area of Raipur. Mandla is around 250 km away from Raipur.

On Saturday afternoon, Raipur police received a tip- off about two persons from Mandla looking for a room on rent and the duo were taken into custody, he said. "During the interrogation, the two confessed to their involvement in the killing. We have informed Mandla police about the arrest and their team has left for Raipur," the official said.