BSP's Dharmendra Chaudhary shot dead in UP

A BSP candidate from Atrauli in Uttar Pradesh, Dharmendra Chaudhary, was allegedly shot dead by unidentified persons in Bannadevi area, a police officer said in Aligarh on Sunday.

A BSP candidate from Atrauli in Uttar Pradesh, Dharmendra Chaudhary, was allegedly shot dead by unidentified persons in Bannadevi area, a police officer said in Aligarh on Sunday.

Chaudhary was shot dead near old Nagar Nigam office late on Saturday night while he was on his way to meet some acquaintance in his car, senior superintendent of police J Ravindra Gaud said.

He said that Chaudhary was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

"The BSP leader's driver has stated that the assailants were two in number. They stopped his vehicle and shot him. We have recovered 11 empty cartridges from the spot which indicate that he received similar number of bullet injuries," the SSP said.

He, however, said that it would be more clear after the post-mortem, which was being conducted.

Chaudhary was declared as the candidate from Atrauli seat by BSP for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. He was also a builder and a partner in a construction company.

Gaud said that though immediate motive was not clear there were several angles which were being looked into.

"The manner in which the killing was executed it seems to be a handiwork of hired professionals," he said.