Prahar Janshakti Party leader shot dead in Akot town of Maha

A local leader of the Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) was allegedly shot dead by two

unidentified assailants at Akot town in Maharashtra's Akola district, police said on Saturday.

Tushar Pundkar, who was former Akola district chief of the PJP, was shot at around 10 pm on Friday, and died in the

wee hours of Saturday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Akola, police said.

Giving information about the incident, a police official said, "Pundkar was walking in Police Colony area of

Akot around 10 pm on Friday when two motorcycle-borne persons fired two bullets at him from behind. Pundkar collapsed on the

ground. Some local residents alerted the police and rushed him to the Rural Hospital in the town."

"He was later admitted to a private hospital in Akola city, where he died during treatment around 3 am on Saturday,"

he said. Police have recovered a gun and two empty cartridges

from the spot, the official added. Pundkar's body was sent to Akola Government Hospital

for post-mortem, police said. Police are trying to ascertain the motive behind the

killing, the official said. Expressing shock over the incident, PJP founder-

president and Achalpur MLA Bacchu Kadu demanded immediate action against the perpetrators of the crime.

"It is important to trace the perpetrators of the crime and the people who gave the 'supari' (contract) of the

murder," he said. "The police department is investigating the case and

culprits will be punished severely," Kadu, who is the guardian minister of Akola district, said.

Pundkar had unsuccessfully contested the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in October 2019 from Akot constituency

on PJP's ticket.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)