A 42-year-old BJP leader was killed in broad daylight in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district on Saturday, leading to panic in the region ahead of the Assembly election. The deceased, Samrath Kumawat, was the party’s Other Backward Class Cell’s vice-president from the district. Three unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants fired indiscriminately on Kumawat and then slit his throat with a sword, when the BJP leader was travelling from his village Kariawad to Pratapgarh.
They then fled the spot. The incident took place about four km away from Pratapgarh.
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Kumawat died on the spot even though bystanders rushed to his rescue. The locals sat in protest with his body and blocked the road demanding that the attackers be arrested at the earliest. The situation was brought under control after the police reached the spot and assured the protesters of prompt action.
Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have condemned the murder and demanded immediate arrest of the accused. Mr. Gehlot, the former Chief Minister, said the “pathetic condition” of law and order in the State was a matter of grave concern. The perpetrators of such heinous crime must be severely punished, he said.