Samajwadi Party Leader and son shot dead in UP

Mangalore Today News Network

Lucknow, May 19, 2020: A chilling video of the murders of a local Samajwadi Party politician and his son being shot dead by two men at close range in a field in western Uttar Pradesh  has emerged. The shooting took place today in a village in Sambhal district, 379 km from state capital Lucknow and 187 km from Delhi.

The brazen incident took place after an argument over a road being built under the MNREGA scheme NDTV reported.

 

Samajwadi Party leader Chote Lal Diwakar and his son Sunil had gone to inspect the road which cuts across a field in the village. On the narrow road in the middle of the field, they had an argument with the two other men who are from the same village. The two other men were carrying rifles. One of the men is a local strongman, identified as Savinder.

The 2 minute, 30 second video shows two men - one in a white shirt and the other in a pink shirt - holding rifles and walking on the muddy road and arguing with the politician.

"Goli chala (open fire)," a man can be heard saying even as some others can be heard trying to pacify the two agitated men. Seconds later, the two men walk back, aim their gun at the politician and his son, opening fire at them.

The video ends abruptly with shaky visuals. A man can be heard screaming. One of the men shot at is seen lying on the field.

Mr Diwakar’s wife is the chief or pradhan of Sambhal’s Shamsoi village.

These men who shot the father and son were angry that the road being constructed under the MNREGA scheme was infringing on their fields.

The two men with the rifles shot at the father and the son after the two parties had a long argument over this issue, involving verbal abuses and threats.

Chote Lal Diwakar and his son died on the spot.

No arrests have been made yet. The police say they will make arrests soon. "One of the men shooting has been identified as a local strongman. We have picked up some people and are interrogating them. We hope to arrest the accused soon," said Yamuna Prasad, a senior police official in Sambhal.

The Samajwadi Party’s district president, Firoz Khan, said that Chote Lal Diwakar, was the party’s candidate for the assembly election in 2017. However, he did not fight the polls as the seat went to the coalition party. He also blamed local goons of the area for the murder.