11 held as plot to kill ashram head unearthed in UP

Mathura (UP): Eleven people, who had gathered here allegedly to kill the chief of an ashram, have been arrested after an encounter, police said on Wednesday.

Four of the accused suffered bullet injuries.

Their target was the Mahant of Kishori Kunj ashram, Swami Raj, police said and added that it was the mahant's son, Keshav Das, who had tasked them to carry out the killing.

There was a dispute between Swami Raj and his son over the management of the ashram.

On receiving a tip-off, a police team surrounded the accused near Panighat in the Vrindavan area on Tuesday night.

In the gunfight, four of the 11 suffered bullet injuries.

Following the arrests, a car, four firearms, several live and used cartridges, an iron rod, a rope and mobile phones were seized.

ASP (City) Martand Prakash Singh said that the 11 people, who were arrested, had gathered to kill Swami Raj. Keshav Das, who is incarcerated in a Bihar jail, was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here on Tuesday by the Bihar Police.

It was Keshav who had tasked the 11 people to kill his father, Singh said.

The injured have been identified as Bipin, Teetu, Ajai and Raj Sikarwar, police said. Of the 11, four are from Bihar and the rest are from Uttar Pradesh.