SUV had flipped and was badly damaged

Greater Noida: A 40-year-old BJP functionary and his driver were shot dead by four men on bikes who ambushed their Fortuner and sprayed it with bullets at Tigri village in Greater Noida’s Bisrakh area on Thursday afternoon.

Moments before the shooting, as the SUV tried to speed away from bikers, it hit a 14-year-old girl crossing the road. Anjali, a Class X student, was in the neighborhood, for tuitions. She succumbed to her injuries in hospital.

Shiv Kumar Yadav, his driver Balli Nath (38) and bodyguard Raspal (40) where rushed to Fortis hospital in Noida. Yadav and Nath were declared brought dead. Raspal, who sustained three bullet injuries, was referred to GTB hospital. Doctors said his condition was critical.

Yadav owned a school — Ma Bhagwati Public School in Haibatpur, a neighbouring village — and was building another (Bala Devi Public School in same area). He owned a house in Pratap Vihar in Ghaziabad where his family — wife Neelam, three sons and a daughter — stay. Yadav’s wife Neelam said her husband had left the house in afternoon for the school. “He had said he would return in some time. We do not know how this tragedy befell us,” she said.

On Thursday afternoon, around 2.30 pm, Yadav was returning from school to his residence in Ghaziabad with his two aides in a white Fortuner. Yadav and Raspal were sitting on the back seat as Nath drove.

Locals said four men on two bikes started chasing the SUV from a lane in Haibatpur village. “The SUV driver suspected a threat and tried to speed away. That is when the vehicle hit 14-year old girl, who was crossing road. She was taken to ESIC Hospital in Noida where she succumbed to injuries. The criminals chased the SUV for nearly 500 metres. They then fired at the SUV’s left tyre and punctured it,” said an eyewitness.

Following this, the SUV driver control and crashed into a divider near Tigdi village cut and overturned. “The criminals overtook the SUV and first shot at the driver, who received a bullet in his stomach. They surrounded the SUV from both sides and sprayed bullets from point blank range at the occupants, killing Yadav and Nath at the spot,” said Ramesh Kumar, another eyewitness.

Anjali was a Class 10 student in a government school and lived with her parents in Behrampur village in Ghaziabad, her relatives said.

Love Kumar, SSP Noida, said police have launched a search to nab the accused. “We questioned some people at the spot. The criminals had come on bikes. Prima facie, it seems pistols were used in the crime,” he said.

The bikers may have shot 15-20 rounds as the SUV had bullet marks on all sides. The SUV’s bumper and right front wheel came off in the attack. All the windshield glasses were also smashed.

Investigations revealed Yadav had a dispute over a piece of land in which one person was killed five years ago. Yadav was named as an accused in the case and he was jailed. Two years ago, he was released from judicial custody on bail. Yadav had personal security guards for over 10 years due to security threat.

Yadav was an active member of BJP’s youth wing, Yuva Morcha. for the past three years. Sanjay Bali, a representative of Union minister Mahesh Sharma, said Yadav was involved in convening meetings during the last Lok Sabha elections and assembly elections, though he did not hold any position in the BJP. Local residents blocked the road in protest for some time demanding swift arrest of criminals. Noida MLA Pankaj Singh told TOI, “Yadav was a BJP worker . This is an unfortunate incident. Police must take stringent action against the killers. The law and order situation should be improved in the city.”

