Jayanti Bhanushali, a senior leader of the BJP in Gujarat and former MLA, was shot dead in a moving train in the wee hours of Tuesday. The victim's family has blamed a fellow BJP leader for the killing.
Bhanushali (53) had represented Abadasa in the Gujarat assembly from 2007 to 2012. His last rites will be performed in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Bhanushali was shot dead by an unidentified person between Morbi and Maliya Miyana. Bhanushali, who was travelling in an air-conditioned coach on the Mumbai-bound train number 19116, was returning to Ahmedabad after attending a programme in Bhuj. Some days ago, Bhanushali's photograph on a poster in Kutch had been defaced by unidentified persons.
In July last year, Bhanushali had stepped down as the vice president of the Gujarat BJP following a rape complaint against him. The case against him was quashed after the complainant withdrew the complaint. Bhanushali had also expressed to various people a fear he had of being killed.
Bhanushali's family members have pointed fingers at Chhabil Patel, another BJP leader, who was previously in the Congress. Bhanushali's relatives alleged that Patel had openly threatened Bhanushali to leave politics or face dire consequences. The family also alleged that Patel fled the country a day or two before Bhanushali's killing.
Patel's son Siddharth, however, denied his father's role in the incident, claiming his father was out of the country for more than 10 days.
While resigning from the post of vice president of the Gujarat BJP, Bhanushali had also said the allegations against him were part of a malicious campaign by “some elements” to damage his political career.
The Gujarat government has constituted a SIT to probe the killing of Bhanushali. According to government sources, the SIT will work with the ATS and the Railway Police.
State BJP president Jitubhai Vaghani expressed shock over the killing of Bhanushali and said he was hopeful of the accused being arrested at the earliest.
The Congress was quick to condemn the killing of Bhanushali. While senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia demanded that Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani relinquish the Home portfolio, opposition leader in the state assembly Paresh Dhanani said an independent inquiry would bring out the truth.
