Janata Dal (United) Gaya district vice president Sunil Singh was shot dead late on Friday night by unidentified assailants outside his house in Bhusunda-Bahora locality over a suspected old rivalry, police said.
Sunil, 52, was hit at least five times on his back outside his house, police said. “Locals rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. An old dispute over land is suspected to be the reason behind the murder,” according to a police officer.
Police said that the incident took place when Sunil returned home after attending a birthday function.
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JD (U) district spokesperson Awadh Bihari Patel told HT that Sunil, along with his son and other party workers attended the birthday of the granddaughter of former block president Suresh Rai.
“The criminals knew that he was returning home at a particular time. They had planned well. They kept a close watch on him and knew that he would return home around 11:40pm,” said a police officer adding that four empty cartridges were recovered from the spot.
Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ashish Bharti told HT that the Wazirganj deputy superintendent of police (SDPO) and station house officer (SHO) are camping at the spot to monitor the situation.
“Police are trying to ascertain the reason behind the killing. An SIT [special investigation team] has been constituted under the supervision of SDPO to investigate the case and identify the assailants,” he added.
Meanwhile, Singh’s wife Jyoti Singh alleged her sister-in-law’s hand in the murder of her husband. According to Jyoti, her sister-in-law Anjali Singh allegedly hatched a conspiracy to eliminate her husband over a property dispute. A few days ago Anjali had a quarrel with her husband about selling ancestral property, Jyoti said.