An influential BJP leader out on a morning walk was stabbed to death by unidentified assassins in Gorakhpur on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses told the police that the killers had parked their car on Sonauli Highway and were waiting for Raj Kumar Chauhan to step out of his house at Bargadwa, around 300km east of Lucknow.
“He had barely walked 300 metres from his house when the killers pounced on him and started jabbing him with knives. He ran for around 100 metres, but the men kept chasing and stabbing him. They waited for a few minutes to ensure that he was dead before walking to their car and speeding away,” a police officer quoted an eyewitness as saying.
Senior superintendent of police Kaustubh Kumar, however, said the killers escaped on two motorcycles.
“We are trying to find out the reason behind the murder and hope to arrest the killers soon. The investigation is going in the right direction. Some eyewitnesses claimed the killers escaped on motorcycles. We are collecting CCTV footage from the nearby areas,” the SSP said.
Chauhan went live on Facebook four days ago. Sitting in his car and twirling his moustache, Chauhan was seen interacting with his followers and planning a dinner party.
