Baghpat: Two people were arrested Wednesday in connection with the murder of a local BJP leader in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh, police said. Sanjay Khokhar (52), a former district unit president of the BJP, was out for a morning walk Tuesday when he was shot dead. Police since then have been on the lookout for the killers of Sanjay Khokhar.
A complaint has been lodged by Manish, son of the slain BJP leader. Based on it, the police have registered a case of murder against Nitin Dhankar, Mayank Dagar, Vineet, Ankush Sharma and an unknown person. The FIR was lodged Tuesday.
SP of Baghpat Ajay Kumar Singh said Wednesday, “Mayank Dagar and Ankush Sharma, who were named accused in the murder of Sanjay Khokhar have been arrested. They are in the age group of 25-26 years. A country-made pistol has been recovered from them. During interrogation, they said that a fight with Sanjay Khokhar’s son (Akshay) in 2018. They have confessed that the enmity led to the incident.”
According to police, a case was registered against Akshay, Vikas, Vineet, Gaurav and Dhankar in 2018 following a dispute. During the incident Vikas got injured.
“Sanjay Khokhar used his clout to get a clean chit for his son in the case. However, the others could not get the clean chit,” the SP informed.
Also read: UP BJP leader shot dead during morning walk in Baghpat
Police has formed five teams to crack the case, the SP said. He also informed that police force has been deployed at the residence of Khokhar. People from different walks of life were coming to pay their tributes to slain leader.
Baghpat MP Satya Pal Singh pointed out that illegal arms are easily available in the area and that helped the killers of Khokhar. “For the past two years, I have been saying that there is a ‘bharmaar’ (abundance) of illegal arms in this area. A campaign should be run to identify the people having the arms. Action should be initiated against ‘gundas’ and criminals irrespective of their political affiliations,” stated Singh.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had Tuesday condoled Khokhar’s death. Adityanath also directed officials to take action against the guilty within 24 hours.
An FIR was registered at the Chhaprauli Police Station in Baghpat and its station house officer (SHO) was suspended.
Khokhar was the district president of the BJP for three years. He was removed from the post before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.