BJP leader Vijay Pandit shot dead in Greater Noida, mob sets ablaze vehicles

Zee Media Bureau/Sushmita Dutta

Greater Noida: Three days after Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde lost his life in a road accident in the national capital, 35-year-old Dadri-based Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Pandit was on Saturday night shot dead by unidentified bike riders here. According to reports, the bikers fired five bullets at Pandit, due to which he succumbed to his injuries. Immediately after the incident, Pandit was rushed to a nearby hospital in Ghaziabad where he was declared dead on arrival. Notably, Pandit`s wife, Geeta Pandit, is the chairperson of Nagar Palika Parishad (Dadri). Meanwhile, furious BJP workers gathered here and staged protest against the firing incident. After which a mob set ablaze 16 vehicles near a police station causing heavy traffic jam at NH-91, reports said. Reportedly, Pandit`s family members alleged that he was getting continuous threats, but the police took no action. According to reports, police have cordoned-off the entire area whereas a Political Action Committee (PAC) has been deployed on the spot. However, speaking to a news channel, Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate, AV Raja Mouli said that the situation has been brought under control. The shootout once again brought to the fore the deteriorating law and order situation in Greater Noida where the murder of a college manager on May 9, had triggered a massive protest. After Narendra Modi-led NDA government came into power, sweeping the 2014 General Elections, this is the second untoward incident that has happened to a party leader. Earlier, Munde had died of “multiple internal injuries" leading to cardiac arrest following a car accident in Delhi on early morning of June 03, the preliminary post-mortem report prepared by a panel of doctors at the AIIMS Trauma Centre in Safdarjung Enclave had said. Surprisingly, a day after Munde`s death, another accident involving a security vehicle tailing RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat was reported from the national capital.