BJP leader set to contest panchayat polls shot dead in Gorakhpur’s Narayanpur village

Singh was returning home on his motorcycle around 10 pm after campaigning in the Gulaharia Bazar police station area when the gunmen shot him

A 46-year-old doctor and his wife were shot dead in Bharatpur on Friday while they were travelling in their car, said the police.

A BJP leader was shot dead by three bike-borne assailants in Gorakhpur’s Narayanpur village late on Friday night, the police said on Saturday. Brijesh Singh, 50, was a former village head and was supposed to file his nomination for the upcoming panchayat polls on Saturday.

Singh was returning home on his motorcycle around 10 pm after campaigning in the Gulaharia Bazar police station area when the gunmen shot him. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. Singh’s family members claimed that a land dispute was the motive behind the murder, the police said, adding that four men had been identified during the preliminary investigation.

“Eyewitnesses have told us that three men opened fire on Singh twice. We have also recovered the empty cartridges from a countrymade pistol used in the murder,” said Chauri Chaura Circle Officer Kuldeep Tewari.

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“Singh was the village head of Narayanpur till five years ago, and was supposed to file his nomination papers on Saturday. The family has given us a written complaint, and we have lodged a case against four people. The family has alleged that he was murdered over a land dispute,” Tewari added.

Based on a complaint by Singh’s brother Bhola Nath Singh, the police identified the four accused as Sunil Srivastava, Pawan Srivastava, Vinay Srivastava and Ram Samuj Nishad.

“While Nishad is a resident of the same village, the other three are related and are from the neighbouring village,” said Tewari, adding, “The four suspects named in the complaint are being questioned, and if needed, they will be arrested based on our probe.”

The police have lodged a case against the four under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 147 (rioting).

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BJP Gorakhpur district chief Yudhishtir Singh said Brijesh Singh was an active party worker and held party posts in the past. “He was supposed to file his nomination for the village head post, and had been an active party leader,” the BJP leader added.

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