Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Jugram Mehndi and his driver were shot dead by three unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district Monday morning, police said.

As Mehndi was going from his home in Nasirabad village to district headquarters Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar, around 200 km east of Lucknow, the assailants fired indiscriminately on his vehicle, hitting him and his driver Subhnit Yadav. Two passersby, identified as Ram Niwas and Sanjay, were also injured in the firing.

However, Mehndi’s security personnel and some supporters sitting behind escaped unhurt.

Yadav tried to drive on but hit a wall. Police reached the spot and rushed Mehndi and Yadav to the district hospital where doctors declared them brought dead.

A large police contingent was deployed in the hospital as BSP workers and supporters raised slogan against the administration and demanded action against the killers.

Superintendent of police Vipin Kumar Mishra said police teams had been constituted to nab the assailants. Mehndi had a criminal history and was involved 21 criminal cases, including loot, murder, rioting and dacoity, he added.

A police officer said that the attack could be due to an old rivalry between Mehndi and gangster Khan Mubarak, adding this aspect was also being probed. Two years back Mehndi was grievously injured in a shooting attack by the Mubarak gang. Mubarak was later arrested and sent to jail.

A BSP leader said Mehndi had demanded security but the police ignored his request. The party will demand a high level inquiry into the murder and compensation to Mehndi’s family, he added.

First Published: Oct 15, 2018 17:01 IST