Hindu outfit leader gunned down in UP
LUCKNOW: The leader of a Hindu outfit, Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha (VHM), was shot dead by an unidentified attacker in the heart of Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow while he was on his morning walk early on Sunday, the police said.
Ranjeet Bachchan, a resident of Gorakhpur district, was on a morning walk along with his cousin Aditya when a man fired at them on the pavement of the Globe Park near Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) building in Hazratganj around 6 am.
The lone attacker fired at Ranjeet’s face, killing him on the spot, and fled. Bachchan’s cousin Aditya was also sustained injuries in the attack. “The assailant was on foot and approached Ranjeet asking him for his cell phone to make a call. The assailant fired on Ranjeet’s face, killing him on the spot,” assistant commissioner of police (Hazratganj), Abhay Mishra, said.
Commissioner of police Sujeet Pandey said four policemen, including in-charge of the KD Singh Babu Stadium police outpost Sandeep Tewari, have been suspended after the killing.
“Forensic experts are scanning the spot. We have been scanning CCTVs and probing the case from all angles,” said Dinesh Singh, deputy commissioner of police, central Lucknow. Six teams have been formed to probe the case, he added.
Bachchan’s brother-in-law, Manoj Kumar Sharma, said Bachchan celebrated his 40th birthday on Saturday and also organised an event in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. This is the second killing of a right-wing Hindu leader in Lucknow in the last six months. Kamlesh Tewari, the national president of the Hindu Samaj Party, was killed on October 18 last year.