By IANS,
Bhiwani (Haryana) : The deteriorating law and order situation in Haryana took a turn for the worse Monday when Nand Lal Chawla, a senior state Congress leader who headed the Bhiwani municipal council, was shot dead by unidentified youth here.
Chawla, a close confidant of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was shot dead Monday afternoon outside the showroom of a textile mill here by unidentified motorcycle-borne youth.
Chawla, 60, was accompanied by two local councillors and another person when the youth opened fire on him from close range, hitting him on the chest, forehead and neck.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
Chawla’s murder has sent shock waves through this town.
Haryana Forests Minister Kiran Chaudhary condemned the murder and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
District police superintendent Sanjay Kumar said that the murder was being investigated and nothing else could be said as of now.
Police officials spoke to Chawla’s family members and his friends for clues on the possible motive for the killing.
Chawla was a well-respected leader of the area and his family members said he was very helpful to everyone.
The incidence of crime has surged in Haryana in the past few days.
A youth, Mahender Kumar, was shot dead by a police squad in a case of mistaken identity Thursday after he failed to stop his vehicle at a barricade near Tosham town, 25 km from here. Villagers blocked the Bhiwani highway to protest the killing.
Sarita, a young woman from Rohtak, was raped by two policemen inside a police station in Hooda’s hometown Rohtak recently. She committed suicide earlier this month inside the police headquarters in Panchkula.
A youth from a village near Karnal committed suicide last week after being tortured by the police in a case pertaining to the disappearance of a girl of his village.