Ghaziabad: In a spine-chilling incident, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Brijpal Teotia and five others were attacked by AK-47-wielding assailants here on Thursday.
Meanwhile, three people, including a woman constable, have been detained for questioning by the UP Police.
According to Meerut zone IG Surjeep Pandey, at around 7.20 pm, unidentified assailants came in a Toyota Fortuner SUV and opened fire at the Scorpio SUV in which Teotia and others were travelling. At least 100 rounds were shot using AK-47 rifles on Raoli Road off NH-58, say reports.
Police put the number of attackers at four and said they also used 9 mm pistols.
The BJP leader and five others were seriously injured in the incident, Pandey said, adding that even though the police launched a chase, the culprits managed to flee.
The injured were initially admitted at Sarvodaya Hospital in Ghaziabad from where Teotia was referred to Fortis Hospital in Noida, the IG said.
Minister of State for External Affairs General (Retd) VK Singh today visited the Fortis hospital to meet the injured Bharatiya Janata Party leader. "The incident is unfortunate and the police are investigating the cause behind the attack. He is fine now and is being operated. His condition is much better now," Singh told the media after visit the BJP leader.
As per information, the BJP leader was accompanied by 20 private gunners, in spite of that the assailants attacked his convoy.
Tevatia is said to be a confidante of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who has purportedly inquired about the incident from officials of the UP Police.
Minister of State Mahesh Sharma had also met the injured leader last night.
Meanwhile, The Times of India quoted ADG (Law & Order) Daljit Singh Chawdhary as saying: "We have seized one AK-47, two 9 mm pistols and another rifle from the spot apart from a huge cache of used and live cartridges. Preliminary investigations suggest some old enmity. We are investigating all angles. We have also roped in the Special Task Force to nab the attackers. As per the updates we received, Teotia's vital parameters were returning to normalcy."
Teotia had contested the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election from Muradnagar constituency.
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