By IANS,
Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government Thursday said a man, shot dead in broad daylight during a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) function a day earlier, was not a party member.
State’s Principal Home Secretary Fateh Bahadur, in a joint press conference with Director General of Police Karmveer Singh, said: “It was wrong to
describe Hanuman Sharan Shukla as a BSP leader as he was not even a primary member of the party. He was a criminal and a history-sheeter.”
Shukla was shot dead in Gonda, about 130 km from here, by an unidentified assailant while he was leading a protest by BSP activists against the women’s reservation bill that promises 33 percent quota to women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislatures.
Asked what was the man doing on the dais put up by the ruling party, the home secretary said: “Well, he was apparently one of those street smart goons who like to flaunt their connections with any party that is in power.”
“Not only Shukla but even his father was killed in similar circumstances and had a long criminal record.”
According to the official, “Shukla was facing criminal charges in a number of cases including that of murdering his father’s killers.”
An elected member of the zila panchayat ‘district council’, Shukla was a terror in the district where his proximity to the ruling party was no secret.