Surendra Singh was referred to a Lucknow hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. (Photo: PTI)

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday claimed that local political rivalry was behind the murder of Surendra Singh, the close aide of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Smriti Irani. The police said three suspects have been arrested so far.

On Saturday, Smriti Irani's close aide Surendra Singh, a former head of Baraulia village which is around 25 km from the Amethi district headquarters, was shot at by an unidentified man. Surendra Singh was referred to a Lucknow hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Director General of Police (DGP) Om Prakash Singh on Monday said on the basis of evidence "local political rivalry" is the likely reason behind the murder and two suspects were still at large.

"We have arrested three suspects. Two suspects are still absconding. On the basis of evidence, it is clear that the five murder suspects and the victim were political rivals," Om Prakash Singh said.

Earlier, an FIR was registered against five persons under Sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of Narendra Singh, the brother of Surendra Singh.

In the FIR lodged at the Jamo police station in Amethi, the complainant said, "On the intervening night of May 25-26, my younger brother Surendra Singh was sleeping in the verandah of the house, along with my nephews Abhay and Anurag, when we heard the sound of gunshots.

"As we woke up, we saw Wasim, his brother Nasim and Golu running away. Across the road, we saw Ramchandra. Dharamnath Gupta is also involved. Ramchandra was involved in a scuffle with one of my nephews during the Lok Sabha polls, due to which the incident took place."

Irani, who was in Delhi, flew down to Lucknow en route to Amethi, where she met Singh's family members and consoled them. The Amethi MP and state minister Mohsin Raza were present when Singh's last rites were performed. A large number of people was also present on the occasion.

Both Smriti Irani and Mohsin Raza were seen carrying Singh's body amidst chanting of slogans by villagers.

Smriti Irani also asked party workers to exercise restraint, even as she targeted Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his "take-care-of-Amethi-with-love" remark, saying she had got the message "loud and clear".