Baghpat firing toll rises to three

Lucknow, Dec 11 (IANS) The death toll in the firing by criminals in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat region has risen to three following the death of a third trader who succumbed to injuries Thursday, officials said.

Two businessmen were killed and six were critically injured when a gang of criminals opened indiscriminate fire in a busy market in Baghpat late Wednesday, the police said.

The four or five men, who were on motorcycles, fired at the shopkeepers in Thatheri Mandi, 300 km from here, and escaped.

While traders Kishanchand Jaiswal and Sumat died instantly, another trader, Sanjay, died in a Meerut hospital. The police said semi-automatic weapons were used by the killers.

Baghpat police chief B.R. Meena said the criminals had been identified and they would be caught in two days.