A Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region was killed and his son was critically injured after a group of people attacked them with iron rods and baseball bats, police said on Friday.

The victim, Devendra Chourasiya, has resigned from the Bahujan Samaj Party and joined the Congress a few days ago.

A BSP legislator’s husband and her brother-in-law are among the six people who have been named as accused in the first information report (FIR) lodged by the slain Congress leader’s brother. All of them are absconding, police said. The incident took place in Hatta tehsil in Damoh district.

Dharmendra Singh, an officer attached to the Hatta police station, said, “Congress leader Devendra Chourasiya, his son Somesh, brother Mahesh, nephew Animesh [among others] reached their bitumen plant at Dhori Kheda village on Friday. Devendra and his son were at the main gate while others had gone to open the office when at least half a dozen men, armed with iron rods and baseball bats, attacked them. By the time the [rest of] family members came to their rescue, the accused had fled the spot.”

“The FIR has been lodged against Govind Singh [husband of BSP MLA from Pathariya constituency Rambai Parihar], Chandu Singh [Govind’s brother], Golu Singh [Rambai’s nephew], Lokesh Singh [Rambai’s brother], Indrapal Patel [son of district panchayat president Shivcharan Patel and BJP leader], Amjad and others for murder and other charges. All the accused are absconding,” Singh added.

The situation in Damoh district remained became tense and markets were closed following the incident. A heavy police force was deployed in Hatta tehsil to bring the situation under control. Deputy inspector general (DIG) of police, Sagar, Deepak Verma, superintendent of police, Damoh, RS Belvanshi, and collector Neeraj Singh have rushed to Hatta tehsil to take stock of the situation.

Govind Singh and his brother, both accused in a triple murder case, have been out on bail for the past one year, police said.

According to police, Mahesh Chourasiya, brother of the slain Congress leader, said in his statement that the attack could be due to political enmity.

Demanding a high-level inquiry into the incident, BSP MLA Rambai Parihar said, “My husband and relatives are innocent. A high-level inquiry into the incident will make it all clear. They have been implicated in the crime as our political stature was rising by the day.”

Congress spokesperson J P Dhanopia said, “It is too premature to say who all are involved in the crime, but it appears that some vested interest were unhappy with his joining the Congress party.”

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First Published: Mar 16, 2019 15:09 IST