BJP leader shot in MP by Bajrang Dal man, dies

According to the police, the incident in Bhainsoda village of the district, some 150km from Mandsaur district headquarters, took place on Sunday, and cases were registered against 11 person

Published on: Dec 14, 2021, 02:38:37 IST

By Shruti Tomar, Hindustan Times, Bhopal/ Mandsaur

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A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, who was shot following an argument at a marriage function over a discourse of jailed self-styled godman Rampal being shown on an LCD screen in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur district, died on Monday, police said.

Bajrang Dal leader Shailendra Ojha shot dead former sarpanch Devilal Meena on Sunday. Special Arrangement (Special Arrangement)

According to the police, the incident in Bhainsoda village of the district, some 150km from Mandsaur district headquarters, took place on Sunday, and cases were registered against 11 persons, four of whom have now been arrested. Sunil Pandey, Mandsaur SP, said BJP leader Devilal Meena, who was a former sarpanch, was shot dead by Bajrang Dal leader, Shailendra Ojha, both residents of Bhainsoda village of the district.

Rampal, who had an ashram in Haryana’s Hisar, was held in November, 2014 following allegations of murders in the premises and was later sentenced to life imprisonment without remission in 2018 for murder, wrongful confinement and criminal conspiracy. Rampal opposed the Hindu rituals and held a campaign to shun the ‘holy trinity’ of the Hindu pantheon — Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. “Members of Rampal’s ashram had come to the village on invitation of Meena. Ojha, who is a regional president of Bajrang Dal, opposed it and asked Meena not to allow anti-Hindu activities in the village,” the SP said.

“On Sunday, a large number of villagers opened fire and also attacked the attendees with rods and canes. Meena tried to stop them, but Ojha shot at him. Meena was rushed to a hospital in Kota where he died while undergoing treatment,” said Gopal Suryavanshi, town inspector of Bhanpura. “The main accused is still absconding.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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