BJP Balwadi Mandal chief Manoj Thakre, 45, was found dead early on January 20. (Representational)Madhya Pradesh police on Thursday arrested a BJP leader and his son for allegedly hiring contract killers to eliminate another BJP leader in Badwani district.
BJP Balwadi Mandal chief Manoj Thakre, 45, was found dead early on January 20 after he went for his morning walk. He had injury marks on his face and neck.
Police on Thursday said Tarachand Rathore, a state BJP executive committee member, and his son Vijay, a panchayat secretary, were among seven persons arrested in connection with Thakre’s murder.
The police, who are on the lookout for three more accused, said the father-son duo were unhappy with Thakre’s rising clout and hatched a plot to get him killed by paying Rs 5 lakh to contract killers.
The police said the killers attacked Thakre with an axe, adding that they dragged the body to nearby bushes and hit him on the head with stones.
A police officer told The Indian Express that one suspect had been picked up days ago after the police got a tip-off that Zagadia, Kailash and Kalu had allegedly killed Thakre.
The police said they have recovered Rs 1 lakh from three accused, the axe used in the crime and blood-stained clothes.
