A man who witnessed the killing of his two brothers during the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, was shot dead in Uttar Pradesh’s Khatauli area on Tuesday, PTI reported on Wednesday. Asbab was a witness in the case in connection with the riots, which had left 62 people dead.

Circle Officer Ashish Kumar said Asbab was murdered when he was going out to deliver milk and added that CCTV footage is being examined to identify the killer.

As many as eight people are being tried for killing Asbab’s brothers, Nawab and Shahid. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 25.

A first information report into the brothers’ murders was filed at the Mansurpur police station on February 25, The Indian Express reported. Asbab had confirmed the names of six of the accused in a statement before a magistrate in the Muzaffarnagar district court.

Asbab’s family alleged the accused threatened him after he identified them. “They are influential people and had come to our house, claiming that they will have their ‘own sense of justice’,” Meena, Asbab’s wife said. “We were scared but we had to pursue the case. And he was killed only a few days later. We left our own village, Khedi, since things were never the same after the violence. The accused took two brothers away from us. And now my husband. We are shattered.”

Meena said she has sought police protection for her two sons, aged ten and three. “Two police officers have been sitting outside our house,” she said.

A senior government official said that while Asbab’s family was not directly affected by the riots, “several cases of isolated crimes were reported in the district, including murders” at the time.