A local leader of the Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) was allegedly shot dead by two unidentified assailants at Akot town in Akola district, police said on Saturday.
Tushar Pundkar, 33, who was former Akola district chief of the PJP, was shot at around 10 p.m. on Friday, and died in the wee hours of Saturday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Akola, police said.
Giving information about the incident, a police official said, “Pundkar was walking in Police Colony area of Akot around 10 p.m. on Friday when two people on a motorcycle fired two bullets at him from behind. Pundkar collapsed on the ground. Some local residents alerted the police and rushed him to the Rural Hospital.”
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“He was later admitted to a private hospital in Akola city, where he died during treatment around 3 a.m. on Saturday,” he said.
The police have recovered a gun and two empty cartridges from the spot, the official added.
Pundkar’s body was sent to Akola Government Hospital for post-mortem, the police said and added that they are trying to ascertain the motive behind the killing.
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Expressing shock over the incident, PJP founder-president and Achalpur MLA Bacchu Kadu, who is also guardian minister of Akola district, demanded immediate action against the perpetrators of the crime.
“It is important to trace the perpetrators of the crime and the people who gave the ‘supari’ (contract) for the murder,” he said.
Pundkar had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections last year from Akot on PJP’s ticket.