A local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Odisha’s Khurda town late on Sunday. The deceased has been identified as Manguli Jena, BJP’s mandal president of Khurda zone-9, police said on Monday.
The incident took place on Sunday midnight when Jena was standing near the house of BJPs candidate Kalu Charan Khandayat for Khurda assembly seat and was holding a discussion with workers of the BJP.
He sustained critical bullet injuries and was rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared him “brought dead”.
The motive behind the murder was not yet ascertained, police said.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned the murder of the BJP leader and requested the Election Commissioner to direct the Police to take strict action against the culprits.
Assembly elections are being held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in Odisha.
