In a fateful development that occurred on late Sunday evening, January 07, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) vice president of Kanker unit, Asim Rai was shot dead by two unknown assailants in Pakhanjur of Kanker district in Chhattisgarh.
The incident occurred when the BJP leader was driving a two wheeler near the party office when two masked men fired close shots on him. According to the reports, Rai was shot on his head following which he was rushed to the Pakhanjur hospital by the locals where the doctors declared him dead. A former president of Pakahnjur Nagar Panchayat, Asim Rai had also survived a similar deadly attack on him in the year 2014.
The murder of the BJP leader has now sparked a huge outrage among the locals and the party workers who have been witnessed demanding immediate arrest of the assailants. As per the information received, the residents of Pakhanjur have closed their shops and businesses to mark their protest against the brutal killing of the BJP leader.
Further, the BJP workers also staged a sit-in demanding swift action in the case, the protest by the party workers also get support by the local MLA who himself joined the protestors.
बीजेपी नेता की हत्या के विरोध में धरने पर बैठे BJP कार्यकर्ता, विधायक विक्रम उसेंडी पहुंचे धरना स्थल | Pakhanjur News
.#BJPLeader #pakhanjurnews #pakhanjur #chhattisgarh #ChattisgarhNews pic.twitter.com/7iXrslWV05— Bansal News (@BansalNewsMPCG) January 8, 2024
The Kanker police on the other hand have launched a probe into the matter and have reportedly detained a number of suspects into the case, additionally CCTV footage in the vicinity are also being examined.
Meanwhile a number of leaders of the Saffron Party including the Chief Minister and the party president of Chhattisgarh while taking to the social media has expressed their grief on the brutal incident.
Reacting to the incident, the BJP state president of the Chhattisgarh unit, Kiran Singh Deo while offering his condolences asserted that the administration is with the deceased leader and the accused will not be spared.
पखांजूर के पूर्व नगर पंचायत अध्यक्ष एवं भाजपा जिला उपाध्यक्ष श्री असीम राय जी की निर्मम हत्या की गई है।
मैं ईश्वर से प्रार्थना करता हूँ कि दिवंगत आत्मा को अपने श्रीचरणों में स्थान प्रदान करें। आपकी शहादत व्यर्थ नहीं जाएगी।
शोकसंतप्त परिजनों को दुःख की इस घड़ी में धैर्य रखने…
— Kiran Singh Deo (@KiranDeoBJP) January 8, 2024
The Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai in a post on X also expressed his grief on the incident and promised to punish the accused. It’s been reported that a number of other leaders including the deputy chief minister may also attend the last rites of the deceased BJP leader.
It is to be noted, that this is not the first time that a BJP leader has been killed in the State and earlier a number of political workers associated with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led party were killed in a string of targeted killings carried out by the insurgents.
The killing includes of the then BJP’s block president of Usur block of Bijapur, Neelkanth Tekam and the then BJP’s vice president of Narayanpur, Saagar Sahu, who was shot dead by two unknown gunmen who barged into the Sahu’s house and fired shots from close range.
