Amethi: A former village head known to be close to newly-elected BJP MP Smriti Irani was shot dead here early on Sunday, leading to the arrest of seven suspects even as the MP pledged to find out the killer “even if he is hiding in hell”. An anguished Irani told the media after the cremation of Surendra Singh, the victim, that she will also knock on the Supreme Court’s door to ensure that the culprits got death sentence. In palpable political tension, Irani rushed from Delhi to Amethi on Sunday and turned pall bearer to the mortal remains of her associate.
50-year-old Surendra Singh, former head of Baraulia village, was shot dead by bike-borne assailants while he was sleeping outside his house. He was rushed to the trauma centre in Lucknow, where he succumbed to his injuries hours later. Irani also met the family of the deceased and his son told reporters: “We could not see the perpetrators but it is clear that Congress workers are behind this. My father was actively campaigning for Smriti Irani and the BJP.”
The brother of the deceased, Rajendra Singh, also termed it a political killing. He said that his brother wielded considerable influence in his village as well as in adjoining villages and this led to his murder. The post-mortem of the deceased was carried out in Lucknow after which the body was brought to Amethi. A large number of BJP leaders were present outside the post-mortem house and in Amethi. Meanwhile, UP Minister Mohsin Raza said on Sunday that the state government will ensure stringent punishment for the assailants, so that no one dares to target party workers in future.
“No one will dare to harass and target our workers. We will ensure strict punishment for the killers. At the moment, we are all with the family of the deceased,” he told reporters. Barauliya, the village to which the deceased Surendra Singh belonged, is said to be a BJP stronghold and sources say that the BJP got votes from here even when Rajiv Gandhi held the Amethi seat.
Surendra Singh, interestingly, had joined the Samajwadi Party on the eve of 2017 Assembly elections but returned to the BJP soon after. Singh was preparing to contest the panchayat elections scheduled to be held later this year and this could have been a motive behind the murder, some said in Amethi.
