BJP booth president, brother killed in Kanpur

A local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party and his brother were shot dead on Wednesday when they were on their way to a court in Kanpur Dehat, to appear in a murder trial in which they were the main accused, said police.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Anant Deo said that police had taken five people into custody in the matter and they were being questioned.

Kapur Singh, alias Kaloo, 45, a booth president of the BJP, and his brother Bachcha Singh, 43, were accused in the murder of one Vijay Singh in 2011, said police.

According to cops, the two left their house on their motorcycle at around 9 am. The assailants, with their faces covered, reportedly pursued them and near canal bridge, close to Girsi Kothi in Ghatampur, they opened fire on the duo. Kapur Singh, who was driving, lost balance and both of them fell off their two-wheeler, eyewitnesses told police.

The assailant then fired at them indiscriminately before fleeing on an unnumbered motorcycle, said police.