Barely
days after BJP leader Vijay Pandit was killed in Dadri, another local
BJP leader was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Muzaffarnagar
district on Tuesday, sparking large-scale protests in the state.
Omveer
Singh, a retired armyman and the president of the Meerapur unit of BJP,
was gunned down by unknown assailants near Bumma Pul while he was
riding his motorcycle.
Besides being a BJP local leader, Singh was also in the business of money lending and property dealing.
Murdered: BJP leader Omveer Singh, who sustained about six bullet wounds, succumbed to his injuries on the spot
BJP's ultimatum
Ultimatum: The BJP has given the police 48 hours to arrest the killers of Omveer Singh (pictured)
"The
assailants fired indiscriminately with country-made weapons and Singh
also retaliated with his licensed revolver. However, he received about
six shots and succumbed to his injuries on the spot. The assailants also
took away his licenced weapon", said SSP Muzaffarnagar H.N. Singh, who
was in Lucknow to attend the CM's review meeting.
Irked by the incident, BJP has given an ultimatum of 48 hours to the
district police and the administration to nab the killers, sources said.
"He
was a popular leader and if killers are not arrested in the next 48
hours, we will start an agitation", district president of the BJP,
Satpal Pal said.
Meanwhile,
IG (Law and Order) Amrendra Sengar said in Lucknow: "An FIR has been
registered and special teams have been formed to crack the case".
The BJP accused Akhilesh Yadav government of failing to stop "political
killings" in Uttar Pradesh. Details are awaited on the daylight murder,
which comes days after another BJP leader, Vijay Pandit, was shot dead
by four men in Greater Noida.
Pandit,
a former district BJP vice-president, too, was accosted by gunmen on
motorbikes on Saturday. They, reportedly, put a gun to his temple and
shot him.
The
murders come very soon after the gang-rape of two teen girls who were
found hanging from a tree in Badaun, an image that provoked outrage
globally.
Several
other cases of brutal assaults on women in UP have followed, prompting
Akhilesh Yadav's political rivals to demand his dismissal for being
unable to ensure law and order.