BSP leader shot dead in Uttar Pradesh

A leader of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district today, police said.

A leader of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district on Wednesday, police said.

HT Image

Krishna Mohan Pandey, 32, was shot dead by three motorcycle-borne miscreants, who managed to flee after killing him in the cantonment area of Lucknow.

"The BSP leader died on the spot. We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the murder of the leader," Deputy Superintendent of Police Sansaar Singh told reporters in Varanasi, some 300-km from Lucknow.

However, police sources said that preliminary investigations reveal the incident could be a fall out of some personal rivalry pertaining to a land dispute.

"We have learnt that the BSP leader had a land dispute with some people in the district and they could be behind the killing," a police official said.

According to the police, Pandey was a treasurer of the party's 'Bhaichara Banao Samiti' (Brahmin-Dalit goodwill committee) in Varanasi district.