A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was shot dead and another injured by two bike-borne assailants in Indira Vihar’s Khora colony, Ghaziabad, on Saturday.
Gajinder Bhati was shot dead at 1.30 p.m. after the miscreants opened fire as he and Balbeer Chauhan, the party’s Khoda mandal head, came out of the former’s house, said the police. The shooters fled the spot after the incident.
The victims were rushed to the Noida district hospital by the locals where Mr. Bhati was declared brought dead. Mr. Chauhan is in a critical condition and is under treatment.
According to the police, Gajinder alias Gajju was a history-sheeter and there were several cases registered against him. He had been staying in Khora Colony and had setup his office near the area.
“Four bullets hit Mr. Bhati while one hit Mr. Chauhan. We are investigating the case and scanning the CCTV footage to identify the accused,” said Akash Tomar, SP (City), adding that the accused had fired several rounds at the victims.
On getting to know about the incident, Mr. Bhati’s supporters reached the hospital in large numbers.
Heavy police force has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident as tense situation prevails in the area. The BJP leader’s death comes just a couple of days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed the law and order situation in the city and directed officials to take measures to maintain a crime-free environment.
Not a unique incident
This is not the first time that a BJP leader has been attacked in Uttar Pradesh, a State where the party recently swept the Assembly polls, ousting the Samajwadi Party.
Earlier this year, BJP leader Ikhlaq Qureshi was shot dead whereas three other leaders of ruling party were shot dead.