Ballia Shooting: Sources say that BJP Chairman JP Nadda also warned the party’s UP chief. (Proceedings)
New Delhi:
An MLA BJP from Uttar Pradesh who has been staunchly defending an aide accused of shooting a man to death in public in Ballia last week received an explanation from the party chief. Sources say that BJP Chairman JP Nadda also warned the party’s UP chief about the conduct of BJP MLA Surendra Singh.
The BJP’s notice to the MLA comes four days after his aide, former military man Dhirendra Singh, allegedly shot and killed a villager during a Panchayat meeting in the presence of officials and police.
Dhirendra Singh, missing since Thursday’s shooting, was arrested yesterday. They caught him on the road after he submitted a surrender request, apparently to avoid police questioning.
Surendra Singh, an MLA from Ballia, has defended the alleged killer since the incident and even claimed that he shot the villager, Jai Prakash, in “self-defense”. He also attacked the police and the UP administration for a “unilateral investigation”.
Sources say the BJP chairman called the party’s UP chief, Swatantra Dev Singh, and warned him “forcefully” about the behavior of the MLA. Mr. Nadda has ordered him to serve a good cause notice on Surendra Singh and has reportedly warned that action be taken if attempts are made to interfere with the investigation.
The MLA has claimed that the defendant Dhirendra Singh heads a local unit of former BJP soldiers.
Singh shot Jai Prakash, 46, three times after an argument broke out between the two at a town meeting about the allocation of ration shops on Thursday. Despite the presence of officers and police, he escaped.
Surendra Singh made a series of shocking statements after the incident. He first said that such a victim could “happen anywhere.” Then the BJP MLA said: “I condemn the tragic incident, but I also condemn the administration’s unilateral investigation. If Dhirendra Singh had not fired in self-defense, dozens of his family members would have been killed. He had no choice but to marne aur maarne (Die or kill) “.
The victim’s family later alleged that due to pressure from the ruling MLA party, the local police were trying to incriminate them using false charges.
While on the run, Dhirendra Singh had posted a video saying that he had warned the police of the violence at the meeting and asked them to post additional security, but they did not.
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