A man was shot dead, allegedly by a BJP leader, and six others were injured in firing and brick-batting during an open meeting convened for the allocation of two fair price shops in Ballia district of eastern Uttar Pradesh on October 15, police said. 46-year-old Jaiprakash was allegedly shot dead by Dhirendra Singh, a BJP worker said to be close to party MLA Surendra Singh. Pal was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The injured include Narendra Singh, 45, Aradhna Singh, 45, Dharmendra Singh, 40, Rajendra Singh, 45 and two others. stampede followed after the shooting that has been captured in a video. The dramatic visuals show a large number of people on a field as three rounds are fired. People are seen panicking and running frantically. The victim was allegedly shot at a meeting in Durjanpur village after an official cancelled a meeting on allotment of ration shops due to a dispute between the members who had gathered there, SP Devendra Nath told news agency PTI. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of the sub-divisional magistrate, a top police official and others soon after. MLA Surendra Singh confirmed that the accused heads the BJP's ex-servicemen's unit in Ballia and said such an incident "can happen anywhere.” Heavy police force has been deployed in the village as a precautionary measure. A police case has been registered against 15-20 people on the complaint of the victim's brother.
