A son of a trade union leader was killed and another injured in Ranchi on Friday morning in what appeared to be a gun clash over fomenting property dispute within the family.

Yashwant Singh (40) was shot dead and elder brother Pratap Singh (43) sustained bullet injuries near Kunwar Singh Chowk in Dhurwa thana area around 7.30am when they were walkinghome after morning exercises at HEC Stadium, a kilometre away.

While the sequence of events that led to the fatal shootout is not clear yet, police have arrested the son-in-law of Yashwant's and Pratap's eldest brother, Ram Eqbal Singh. The bullet that killed Yashwant was fired from 38-year-old Amar Singh's licensed firearm, said to be a sophisticated rifle whose make has not been disclosed yet. Amar's driver too has been arrested.

Ram Eqbal, Pratap and Yashwant are the three sons of HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation) union leader Rana Sangram Singh who is popular as Netaji in Dhurwa. The ugly family dispute fallout is learnt to involve 60 acres of land in Kaimur, one of the 38 districts of Bihar, and a transport company in Ranchi.

A family friend claimed Ram Eqbal's son-in-law Amar, a native of Bihar visiting Sector II in Dhurwa, shot dead Yashwant and injured Pratap. "Netaji's sons were returning home from the stadium in the morning when they were attacked (by Amar)," he said.

Another acquaintance of the trade union leader supported the ambush theory and added, "Amar Singh was waiting in his car to attack (the sons of Rana Sangram). As the duo walked past Kunwar Singh Chowk, Amar opened fire."

A local source, however, said Yashwant and Pratap opened fire first from their rifle, a theory that gains merit from the nine bullet marks found on Amar's seized Toyota Innova, bearing registration number BR-03M 0001. Police though claim to have found six used cartridges on the spot. "Rana Sangram's sons targeted Amar when he was crossing Kunwar Singh Chowk in the morning. Amar retaliated with his licensed firearm," the source said.

Dhurwa OC Harischand Singh expressed his inability to establish the sequence of events. "No FIR has been registered because the statement of the injured (Pratap) is pending. He is admitted to Medica. His statement is crucial to understand what happened and how," the OC said.

State police spokesperson S.N. Pradhan confirmed the property dispute angle behind the gun assault and said Amar and his driver Ramesh had been arrested. But, Pradhan could not shed light on the property involved. "Firing took place from both sides. Amar Singh says he opened fire in self-defence. We have seized his licensed gun and are interrogating him," Pradhan said.

A family member of Rana Sangram said the dispute was over the 60-acre prime plot in Kaimur and eight buses of Kaimur King, the transport company run by the union leader's sons in Ranchi. He could not explain what the nature of dispute was.

Confusion reigned at Dhurwa police station. "I have never witnessed such an incident within the family. What can police do if two members of one family fire on each other with licensed arms?" a policeman was heard saying.

For security reasons, Amar is being questioned at Jagannathpur police station, some 3km from Dhurwa thana. His white Innova, with nine bullet marks, was found at Jagannathpur police station. An officer said six rounds of used cartridges were found at the crime site, but refused to speak any further about the case.

Should firearm licence be subjected to stricter scrutiny? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com