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In a tragic incident in the Choubepur police station area, a shopkeeper was shot dead late Thursday night while sleeping outside his home. The unidentified assailants, who arrived at the victim’s shop on a motorcycle, allegedly killed him after he refused to give them cigarettes.
According to reports, the victim, Sharda Yadav, ran a makeshift pan shop outside his house in Birnathipur village, under the Choubepur police station area in Varanasi. He sold grocery items from his shop and used to sleep outside it.
On Thursday, after dinner, Sharda went to sleep outside his shop around 9 PM. When the gunshots were heard, his wife ran outside and found her husband lying in a pool of blood on his cot.
According to local reports, while Sharda was sleeping outside, some unidentified youths arrived on a motorcycle. They demanded a packet of branded cigarettes, but Sharda told them that he could not open the shop as the keys were inside his house. The youths then began to abuse him, shot him in the chest, and fled.
Around midnight, hearing the gunshot, family members rushed outside and took the blood-soaked Sharda to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Villagers immediately notified the police, who have since begun their investigation at the scene.
The Choubepur Police Station Chief and Varuna Zone DCP Chandrakant Meena arrived late at the scene. After gathering descriptions of the suspects, the police have launched a search operation in the surrounding areas but have not yet made any arrests. The murder has sparked significant outrage in the village.
