PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 9 -- A 50-year-old man from Pratapgarh was murdered in Amethi district after stepping out of his niece's house late at night upon receiving a phone call. The assailants allegedly beheaded him, dragged the body for around 150 metres and dumped it in a drain before fleeing with the severed head.

According to police, the victim was identified as Vijay Singh, 50, a resident of Chowk Dharamshala ward in Pratapgarh, through an Aadhaar card found in his pocket. Upon being informed, family members rushed to Amethi.

As per reports, Singh, who ran a garment shop on a footpath near Government Girls' Inter College in Pratapgarh, had gone to his niece Alka's house in Bahadurpur near the Jais railway station road in Amethi on Wednesda...