india

Updated: Jan 12, 2020 15:06 IST

A local Samajwadi Party leader and former village head Bijli Yadav (39) was shot dead in the outskirts of Shekhwalia village of Uttar Pradesh’s Mau district, just over 100 km north of Varanasi on Sunday morning when he was out for a walk, police said.

Police said the murder came to light when locals ran to the spot after hearing a gunshot.

According to the police, locals said that Yadav had gone out for a morning walk. Around 500 meters from the village, unidentified assailants fired at his temple from point blank range and fled. Hearing the gunshot, locals ran to the spot only to find Yadav’s body lying in a pool of blood.

Police soon reached the spot and started a probe. Mau’s superintendent of police Anurag Arya who also visited the scene of murder, refused to speculate on the possible cause of the murder but said the assailants would be arrested soon.

“A case has been registered under relevant sections of IPC following a complaint by the wife of the deceased. Two teams have been constituted to arrest the assailants. The matter is being investigated from all possible angles. The assailants would be arrested soon and strict action would be taken against them,” Arya said.

Yadav was only son of his parents. He is survived by wife, a son and five daughters.

Reacting to the murder, another Samajwadi Party leader in Mau, Karnpratap Singh said that the state government has failed in controlling crime. “Law and order is in very bad shape,” he said.