Amethi: Smriti Irani's close aide shot dead at his home
In a shocking event, a close aide of Bharatiya Janata Party's Smriti Irani was shot dead at his residence in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, police said on Sunday. The deceased identified as 50-year-old Surendra Singh was attacked at his home in Baraulia village. He was rushed to a district hospital, where doctors referred him to Lucknow. Later, he succumbed to his injuries. Here's what happened.
Singh accompanied Irani when she came for electioneering
Singh, who was a former head of Baraulia village, used to accompany Irani whenever she was in the area for campaigning. His village made it to news after Congress' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused Irani of distributing shoes for insulting her brother Rahul Gandhi. Rahul had been representing Amethi in Lok Sabha since 2004. Locals claimed Singh was involved in distributing footwear.
Earlier, Singh thanked 'Didi' for bringing development to his village
A video emerged on social media in which Singh can be seen praising Irani and late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Calling Irani his "didi", Singh said his village was devoid of basic facilities earlier. He thanked Parrikar for building roads. "I hope BJP gets a historic mandate in the next elections so that development in the area doesn't stop," Singh said.
Watch: When Singh heaped praises on BJP
Police have taken a few suspects into custody
Speaking on the cold-blooded murder, Amethi's SP told ANI, "He was shot around 3 AM. We've taken a few suspects into custody. Investigation on. It can be due to an old dispute or a political dispute."
After historic win, Irani said people of Amethi chose development
Irani scripted history on Thursday after wresting power from Rahul. She defeated Rahul by a vote margin of over 55,000 votes. After winning elections, Irani said the fight was essentially between a family and a "family-like" organization. "The people of Amethi want development. They want their MP to work for them for five years and not sit comfortably after winning," she said.
