Kanpur: Former BJP yuva morcha district vice-president Sonu Rathor was shot in the back and stabbed in the stomach by a group of youths in the Rawatpur police station area of Kanpur, near Chhapeda Puliya, following a dispute over a shop.Police took the him to Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) hospital, where his condition remained critical. CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media.Based on a complaint from Sonu’s parents, police registered an FIR against nine named people. The main accused, Abhishek Vishwakarma, was arrested.Sonu Rathor lived near Signature City in Nawabganj. His mother, Rajjo Devi, and brother, Saurabh, said they owned a shop selling worship materials at Chhapeda Puliya.They said that on Tuesday night Sonu attended a wedding ceremony in Rawatpur and was returning past the shop when Vishwakarma, Sajan alias Rohit and Baba, along with their associates, beat him up. After shooting him, they stabbed him multiple times. Police found 7-8 knife wounds on his body, and a bullet hit his back.Following the incident, BJP functionaries from across the city gathered outside LLR Hospital, and a heavy force was deployed to prevent any unrest. DCP west SM Qasim Abidi arrived at the scene to investigate.Abidi said, “A dispute over a shop has been ongoing between the two parties, and on late Tuesday night, when Sonu was returning from somewhere, Abhishek and his associates attacked him. Believing him to be dead, they fled. With the help of CCTV, we have arrested Abhishek, and searches are underway to nab his associates.”
