BAGHPAT: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary was shot dead in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district on Tuesday morning, police said. Sanjay Khokhar, a former district unit president of the BJP, was out for a morning walk when the incident took place, the police said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled Khokhar's death and directed officials to take action against the guilty within 24 hours. "Sanjay Khokhar (52), a resident of Tilwara area of the district was going towards his tubewell in the morning when he was shot at by some criminals.He died on the spot," Baghpat SP Ajay Kumar Singh said.
"A police team rushed to the spot upon getting the news. So far, no complaint has been registered. Prima facie it (reason behind the killing) seems to be enmity. Khokar was hit by bullets on the head and in the chest. Police teams have been formed to crack the case," Singh said.
Khokhar was the district president of the BJP for three years and was removed from the post before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The body has been sent for post-mortem and a First Information Report (FIR) registered at the Chhaprauli Police Station in Baghpat, according to the officials.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the incident, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Chhaprauli police station has been suspended.
In a tweet in Hindi, the Uttar Pradesh DGP said, "In view of the murder of former district president of the BJP Sanjay Khokhar, instructions have been issued to suspend SHO Chhaprauli with immediate effect for inability to stop crime.