Timber smugglers kill policeman on duty

AZAMGARH - In a broad daylight murder, timber smugglers shot dead a policeman on duty Friday after he tried to intercept their truck during a vehicle check here, police said. The three have been arrested.

Nityanand Singh, the police constable, was shot dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Gambhirpur town by the timber smugglers who were in the truck.

“Nityanand noticed a timber-laden truck during the vehicle check and signalled the driver to stop. While he was having a verbal argument with the driver, Nityanand was shot by those inside the truck,” Senior Superintendent of Police Bhagwan Srivastava told reporters in Azamgarh, some 350 km from Lucknow.

The three drove away, only to abandon the truck at a secluded place after dumping the timber in a stream.

The police arrested them later.