BALLIA: Police here on Tuesday sought the remand of Dhirendra Pratap Singh, a local BJP leader arrested for allegedly murdering a man during the allotment of ration shops in the presence of senior district and police officials.
The incident had taken place at Durjanpur village in the Reoti area on October 15.
The local BJP leader, who is the main accused in the case, had shot dead a 46-year-old man following a quarrel over the allotment of shops.
He was held from Lucknow on Sunday.
An application was filed in the court on Tuesday for police remand of Dhirendra Pratap Singh, said SP Devendra Nath Singh.
He said the court will hear the plea on Wednesday. The remand is necessary to recover the weapon used in the crime, the SP added. So far, 10 people have been arrested in the case.
An FIR was lodged against around 30 people, most of whom are yet to be identified.
The BJP has issued a show-cause notice to its Ballia MLA Surendra Singh for making statements in support of Dhirendra Pratap Singh. The MLA had earlier said that Dhirendra Pratap Singh "opened fire in self-defence" as "it was a do-or-die situation for him".
He had also accused the administration of bias and demanded that action be taken against the other side.