Six persons including five of a family were killed on Monday in violence over land in Fatehpur village of Rudrapur area here, police said. The incident took place in the Lehda Tola locality in the morning, they said.

Former district panchayat member Prem Yadav, 50, was attacked with sharp edged weapons and killed by his rival Satyaprakash Dubey and his family when he went to his house, Special DG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar said.

In retaliation soon after, Yadav's supporters from Abhaipur attacked Dubey's house and brutally killed Dubey and five of his family, including children.

Besides 54-year-old Dubey, his wife Kiran Dubey, 52, daughters Saloni, 18, and Nandani, 10, and son Gandhi, 15, were killed in the attack.

Dubey's 8-year-old son Anmol was injured in the attack and has been referred to BRD Medical college, Gorakhpur, where his condition was stated to be serious.

The violence erupted out of a land dispute the two families were locked in.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the killings, Kumar said.

District Magistrate, Deoria, Akhand Pratap Singh said they got information about the incident around 8 am.

"The incident was reported after an altercation between two groups … a person of a group was found dead and six others were found in an unconscious state, of whom five were declared dead by doctors at the hospital," he said.

"The cause behind the incident is stated to be a longstanding land dispute between two families of the village. The brother of Satya Prakash Dubey, Sadhu Dubey had sold his land to Premchand Yadav and the matter was resolved seven years ago," he said, adding, a probe is on in the matter.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the Commissioner of Police and the Inspector General to take strict action against the guilty.

He also condoled with the bereaved members of the two families and directed officials to ensure the best treatment to the injured.

BJP MLA from Deoria Sadar, Shalabh Mani Tripathi, said he was saddened by the killings and will get the matter investigated.

"Heartbroken by the brutal incident that took place in Fatehpur of Rudrapur assembly constituency of Deoria. This is a very unfortunate and sad incident. This type of incident is absolutely unacceptable," Tripathi said.

"It will be thoroughly investigated and instructions have been given for strict action. The guilty will not be spared and accountability of people of revenue and police administration will also be fixed," he added.

Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma said heavy police deployment has been made in the village considering the sensitive matter involving two castes.

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