Samajwadi Party leader, son, shot dead in Uttar Pradesh
What's the story
The cold-blooded murders of a Samajwadi Party leader and his son in Uttar Pradesh sent shockwaves in Sambhal district, where the incident happened. The duo was murdered by two assailants in broad daylight over a land dispute. A chilling video of the crime shows that bullets were fired at a close range. Police have launched an investigation. Here are more details.
Details
Two groups had a verbal spat, then shots were fired
The deceased were identified as Chote Lal Diwakar and his 28-year-old son Sunil. In the clip, a group of men can be seen having an altercation with another group on a narrow road, cutting across a field. Reportedly, both groups locked horns over the construction of a road under the MNREGA scheme. The accused opposed the construction as it infringed their fields.
What happened
Accused aimed at father-son duo, opened fire
In the horrifying clip, two men, holding rifles, were seen having an argument with the politician. In the middle of it, a man was heard saying, "Goli chala (open fire)." It was only seconds later that the accused aimed at the father-son duo and fired bullets. One of the accused was identified as Savinder, a local strongman.
Arrests
No arrests yet, though people have been detained: Police
One person was seen lying after the firing and another one screamed. Firoz Khan, SP district president, revealed Diwakar was selected as the party's candidate for elections in the 2017 Assembly polls. He, however, didn't contest as the seat went to the coalition party. Khan blamed local goons for the murders. Yamuna Prasad, SP Sambhal, said no one was arrested so far.
Quote
Probe is on, said Prasad
"Father and son died at the spot in bullet firing. The bodies were sent for post-mortem and FIR is being registered. Three teams were formed, some people were detained and the probe is on," Prasad told ANI.
Twitter Post
Trigger warning: Here is the shocking video
Warning: Disturbing video
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) May 19, 2020
Shocking video of double murder from UP's Sambhal district. Local Samajwadi party leader Chote lal Diwakar and his son were gunned down by two assailants over a land dispute in the village. @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/OuoYtNEd9K
Statement
Former parliamentarian slammed BJP after the murders
SP's Dharmendra Yadav, who was a parliamentarian, expressed grief and called Diwakar a hard-working leader. 50-year-old Diwakar was given a ticket from Chandausi assembly, Yadav revealed. Launching an attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, he said, "It's clear from the murder of our leader that cops are protecting criminals. SP workers are being killed openly in the state."