Neeta Singh and her cousin Tilak were allegedly shot by their neighbour Sonu Saxena and his friends in the Rudra Vatika apartment in Ratan Lal Nagar.

While Neeta died on the spot, Tilak succumbed to his injuries at Lala Lajpat Rai hospital. A murder case has been registered against Saxena and his friends who have been identified as Anil Shukla, Tannu and Sonu Dwivedi.

The DIG Kanpur, Hari Ram Sharma, said search is on to trace the accused.

Initial investigation has pointed to “a rivalry between two neighbours” that led to the murder.

“After a dispute between the two neighbours, Saxena and his friends opened fire at Neeta and Tilak who were present in the house,” said Sharma.

Neeta’s husband, Narendra Singh Chandel, was however not present in the flat. Chandel, who is also the state vice-president of Samajwadi Party Yuvjan Sabha, was in Lucknow for a personal work on Thursday and returned after his daughter Akansha informed him about the incident.

“My mother requested Saxena to lower the volume of the music system and then returned to our flat. A few minutes later, Saxena and his friends barged inside our flat and opened fire,” Akansha said.

The bullet first hit Tilak’s neck and when Neeta tried to intervene, bullets were fired at her. Soon after committing the crime, Saxena and his friends escaped.

“My wife was a dance teacher. During the afternoon, she used to run a dance class at the flat. Saxena was against it and on several occasions had raised objection,” Chandel said.

Superintendent of Police (West) Dayanand Mishra said six empty shells fired from a .32 bore pistol have been recovered from the apartment.