Lucknow, January 12: In a startling case of murder reported from eastern Uttar Pradesh, a Samajwadi Party leader was shot to death in broad daylight. The incident was reported on Sunday, when Bijli Yadav, an active functionary of the Akhilesh Yadav-led party, was killed by unidentified assailants in Mau. The act of crime occurred in Muhammadabad locality of Mau district. UP BJP Leader Dhara Singh Shot Dead By Unidentified Assailants in Saharanpur.

Preliminary reports claimed that Yadav was out on morning walk when the alleged shooters targeted him. He was shot from a close range which led to his death on the spot, local media reports said. The police rushed at the spot immediately after being alerted.

A preliminary probe was launched, with the body being sent for post-mortem. The investigators are expected to use CCTV footages available in the vicinity to identify the culprits and launch a search operation.

Update by ANI

The Mau constituency, where the murder of SP leader Bijli Yadav was reported today, is represented in the UP legislative assembly by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader and strongman Mukhtar Ansari.

For the Samajwadi Party, this is the third targeted murder of their leaders in the last seven months. On May 31, the party lost two of its active officials - Lalji Yadav and Ramtek Kataria. While Lalji was shot dead on the unfateful day in Khwaja Sarai area of Jaunpur district, Katari was gunned down in Dadri area of Gautam Buddh Nagar. Following the murders, the SP had upped the ante against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over "increasing crime" in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 12, 2020 01:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).