Unidentified miscreants shot dead Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha International president Ranjeet Bachhan and also injured his cousin when duo were on the morning walk on Sunday barely a couple of kilometres from the high-security Uttar Pradesh legislature complex in the heart of the State Capital.
Saffron-clad Ranjeet Bachchan, 40, who had founded the Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha, was shot in the head and his cousin Aditya Srivastava injured in the attack by an unidentified assailant who also snatched their mobile phones, according to Joint Commissioner of Police Naveen Arora.
The attacker had covered himself in a shawl and was on foot, police said quoting eyewitnesses. Four police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were suspended for alleged laxity and a case has been registered at Hazratganj police station here in connection with the incident which occurred near the Collectorate building, days after Lucknow came under the police commissioner system with an aim to improve law and order.
Later, police released CCTV footage showing a suspect and announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for providing information, a senior official said. According to Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha president Swami Chakrapani, Bachchan was also the working president of the outfit’s Uttar Pradesh unit.