Congress leader shot dead in MP’s Chhatarpur district; six booked

A local Congress leader was allegedly shot dead by six men in Badamalhara town of Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district, police said on Wednesday.

According to the police, a case of murder has been registered against six persons and a manhunt has been launched to nab them.

Motorcycle-borne assailants fired at Indra Pratap Singh Parmar (45), the party president of Ghuvara block, near a hotel in Badamalhara town and fled the scene, Chattarpur's city superintendent of police (CSP) Lokendra Singh said.

Locals immediately rushed Parmar to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, the official said.

The police suspect that "an old enmity" might be the reason for the attack and the matter will be probed further, it was stated.

Angered by the incident, the deceased Congress leader's supporters and family members ransacked the hospital and created a ruckus.

The shooting was captured in the CCTV camera of the hotel and the footage is being examined, the CSP said.

After an autopsy on Wednesday the victim's body was sent to Pathia village under police protection, he said, adding that there is heavy police deployment in Badamalhara in view of the ruckus and tension in the area, following the incident.

Following a probe, a case of murder was registered against the accused Hakim Singh, Mor Pal Singh, Hardev Singh, Imrat Lodhi, Ramkripal Lodhi and Haricharan Lodhi, the district's superintendent of police (SP) Sachin Sharma said.

A 15-member police team has been constituted to nab the assailants and a reward of Rs 10,000 has also been announced for information leading to the arrest of the accused persons, the SP said.

Meanwhile, state Congress president Kamal Nath has constituted a six-member committee comprising former ministers and MLAs to probe the incident and submit its report to the party.

Members of the committee include former ministers Harsh Yadav, Brajendra Singh Rathore, Yadvendra Singh and MLAs Alok Chaturvedi, Neeraj Dixit and Viram Singh Natiraja, a party statement said.