Adityanath speech at Ghaziabad rally avoids mention of slain BJP leader Shiv Kumar

On November 16, Kumar and his two aides were gunned down by assailants in Greater Noida.

In their speeches in the election rally held in Ghaziabad on Saturday, BJP leaders, including CM Yogi Adityanath, spoke about development, crime and employment, but did not mention the killing of BJP leader Shiv Kumar two days ago.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath in an election rally on Saturday ahead of the local body polls in Ghaziabad to be held on November 26. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

On November 16, Kumar and his two aides were gunned down by assailants who open fired at their SUV near Tigri crossing adjacent to NH-24. The incident shocked residents as a 15-year-old girl of Behrampur lost her life after she was overrun by the victims’ SUV after the injured driver lost control of the vehicle.

Yogi in his speech mentioned another slain BJP leader, Gajendra Bhati, and his wife Reena, who is now contesting the election from Khoda nagar palika as BJP’s chairperson candidate. Bhati was gunned down in Khoda on September 2.

Shiv Kumar’s grieving family was expecting that the CM will mention the hard work of Kumar. “My brother had gone to Lucknow and met Yogi. For several years, he was making untiring efforts to brighten the prospects of the party in the elections. If the party forgets him, what else do we say about it,” said Yogesh Yadav, Shiv Kumar’s cousin. “After the incident, we have not been provided any security by the police,” he said.

“The CM discussed the case with me and we apprised him of the investigation. The four persons named by the victim’s family are still under probe. We are verifying more details and are questioning them. We are taking care of the security issues of the victim’s family,” the SSP said.