The Uttar Pradesh president of right wing group Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha, was shot dead in Lucknow by unknown bike-borne assailants on Sunday when he was out on a morning walk with a friend, police said.
Ranjit Bachchan who was earlier was earlier associated with the Samajwadi Party was out on a morning walk in Hazratganj with his friend Ashish Srivasatava. At around 6:30 am he was shot by bike borne assailants. He received multiple bullet injuries in the head and died on the spot, while his friend Srivastava who also sustained injuries in the attack was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment.
The killing prima facie appears to be fallout of some family dispute, but the police are investigating all possible angles. Reportedly, Bachchan’s married life was not stable as he was not living with his wife.
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Meanwhile, the police said that all exit and entry points in the state capital have been sealed and teams have been set up to identify and arrest the accused. CCTV footage in the area is also being scanned. This is the first major crime in the state capital after the police commissionerate system was implemented in Lucknow on January 14.
This is the second murder of a Hindu leader in the state capital recently. Former leader of the Hindu Mahasabha Kamlesh Tiwari was shot dead and his throat slit in broad daylight in October last year. The attackers wearing saffron clothes, on the pretext of handing over a box of sweets, walked into Tiwari’s office in Khurshid Bagh area. Soon after walking in, they took out the firearm and shot Tiwari.
Two men Ashfaq Hussain (34) and Moinuddin Pathan (27) were later arrested and they have confessed to the murder, the police said.
Tiwari had earlier made highly controversial remarks involving Prophet Muhammad. He was arrested and the National Security Act (NSA) was slapped on him. Later the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court revoked the NSA against him.
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