Bahadur Sonkar, a Dalit leader contesting LS polls as Indian Justice Party candidate from Jaunpur was found hanging from a tree at Raja Ka Talab, barely 500 metres from his house. His family alleged that opposition leader was involved in his murder.
RELATIVES OF Dalit leader Bahadur Sonkar, who was contesting Lok Sabha polls as Indian Justice Party candidate from Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh alleged on Monday (April 13), that an opposition leader was involved in his murder.
Sonkar's body was found hanging from a tree at Raja Ka Talab, barely 500 metres from his house in Jaunpur, on Monday. Tension erupted in the area after his relatives and supporters clashed with policemen to prevent them from taking the slain leader's body for postmortem.
Eyewitnesses revealed that there were clear signs that Sonkar was abducted forcibly from his home before being hanged from a tree.
His family members asserted that mafia don Dhananjay Singh, who is contesting the polls on a BSP ticket was issuing threats to him.
Sonkar was being asked by Singh to withdraw from the polls on the assumption that he could split the Dalit votes, which otherwise would go en bloc to the BSP candidate.
The relatives of the slain leader said that when Sonkar refused to withdraw, he was warned of dire consequences. They also named a police official, who was issuing threats in the name of BSP candidate.
Meanwhile, Indian Justice Party had called for CBI probe into the murder and called for immediate action against the police officials. The state government, meanwhile, has said that the guilty will be caught and punished notwithstanding their wealth and power.