BJP leader Pramod Yadav who contested against Dhananjay Singh's wife in 2012 shot dead in UP's Jaunpur
Pramod Yadav had contested the 2012 assembly elections from the Malhani seat on the BJP symbol against Jagriti Singh, wife of former MP Dhananjay Singh.
BJP leader Pramod Yadav was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, police said. The incident took place near Bodhpur village turn under the Sikarara police station area of Jaunpur district.
The assailants stopped Pramod Yadav, 55, on the pretext of giving a ‘card’, according to police, and shot him three times.
The assailants fled the scene leaving their bike at some distance.
Yadav, the Jaunpur district unit president of BJP Kisan Morcha, was rushed to the hospital where the doctor declared him brought dead.
Jaunpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajaipal Sharma said that several teams have been deployed to ensure the arrest of the assailants and the initial investigation has led to some important clues.
Further investigation is underway.
Pramod Yadav had contested the 2012 assembly elections from the Malhani seat on the BJP symbol against Jagriti Singh, wife of former MP and strongman Dhananjay Singh. However, the duo got divorced in 2017 and Dhananjay Singh later got married to Srikala Reddy.
On Wednesday, an MP/MLA court sentenced Dhananjay Singh to seven years of imprisonment in a 2020 kidnapping and extortion case. Presently with the Janata Dal (United), Singh was reportedly preparing to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Jaunpur. But the conviction now makes him ineligible under the Representation of the People Act to contest election.
Additional Sessions Judge Sharad Kumar Tripathi, who held Singh and his associate Santosh Vikram guilty in the case of kidnapping of Namami Gange project manager Abhinav Singhal on Tuesday, also imposed a fine of ₹75,000 on each of them, District Government Counsel (Criminal) Satish Pandey said.