In a tragic incident on Friday, a 52-year-old government school teacher, Arbind Kumar Yadav, was shot dead in Gopalganj. Yadav, a former head of the Jhhirwa panchayat, was on his way to teach at a middle school in Jhhirwa village when he was ambushed by unidentified assailants. The attackers shot him at close range, firing at least five bullets before fleeing the scene.
Preliminary investigations by the police suggest that the murder might have been driven by a long-standing political rivalry. Yadav had remained active in local politics, with his wife previously serving as the head of Jhhirwa panchayat and his son, Vishwajit Yadav, currently holding the position of chief in the Uchkagaon block. Yadav himself had been deeply involved in Hathua subdivision-level politics.
After the attack, Yadav was rushed to Hathua Sadar Hospital, where he was declared dead upon arrival. Gopalganj Superintendent of Police (SP) Awadhesh Dixit confirmed that the police were pursuing leads and conducting raids at suspected hideouts, though no arrests had been made by the time of reporting.
Hathua Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Anand Mohan Gupta visited the crime scene and directed authorities to explore every possible angle during the investigation. A forensic team and dog squad were deployed to collect evidence.
In the aftermath, Ranjan Yadav, a representative of the Uchkagaon block, accused the police of neglecting Yadav’s previous requests for protection. He claimed that the failure to provide security contributed to the fatal attack. Furthermore, he warned that if the perpetrators are not caught soon, public representatives from Hathua subdivision would resort to self-immolation as a form of protest.
