A senior Congress leader was allegedly shot dead by unidentified persons in Sidhari area on Saturday.

52-year-old Raj Narain Singh, president, cooperative cell of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), was shot near Belaisa when he had gone for a walk this morning, Additional District Magistrate Ashutosh Dwivedi said.The leader had contested the state assembly election on Congress ticket in 1993 from Lalganj assembly segment, he said. The motive behind the murder is not clear, police said, adding that the probe was on.