From correspondents in India, 09:01 PM IST

A 32-year-old eunuch, who was shot at by members of a rival gang over a 'territory' dispute last week, died in a hospital here, police said Monday.

Rekha Tiwari died around midnight Sunday.

Tiwari was brought to the hospital in a critical state after four members of a rival eunuch gang shot at her in Geja village in Noida Friday at around 7.30 p.m., police said.

According to police, a group of eunuchs of the Atique gang, aiming to muscle into the 'territory' of the Pappu group, shot at Rekha, who protested their entry into the phase II area. Rekha heads the group in the absence of Pappu, who is in jail.

Rekha sustained injuries in her abdomen and was rushed to Kailash Hospital.

According to the police, the two groups were operating in Ghaziabad and Noida - Pappu in Noida and Atique in Ghaziabad - and phase II in Noida had been fixed as the dividing line between the territories. However, the Atique group used to frequently enter Pappu's territory.

Rekha claimed she had asked for security earlier, but the Noida police had denied her request.

'We have registered the criminal case and are attempting to arrest the accused at the earliest,' Superintendent of Police (City) A.K. Tripathi said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)