From correspondents in Uttar Pradesh, India, 04:02 PM IST

A 26-year-old Dalit was killed in an Uttar Pradesh marriage function for not beating the drum as desired by a group of villagers, police said Friday.

The villagers directed Ram Prakash Saanwle to produce louder drumbeats Thursday at Yaseen Nagar village in Etawah district, some 300 km from Lucknow.

'When Saanwle told the villagers that he was beating the drum with maximum force, the villagers got irked and started assaulting him with wooden sticks. Later, they opened fire at Saanwle,' police inspector Samresh Kumar told reporters.

'Though members of the band managed to take Saanwle to a hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. We have arrested one person,' he added.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)