Mr Ojha was shot dead today evening in Bihar's Bhojpur district.
Highlights
- Bihar BJP Vice President Visheshwar Ojha shot dead in Bhojpur district
- Death may be result of enmity with criminal Harish Mishra: Police sources
- Ojha was involved in 10 criminal cases, including one of murder
A top leader of the BJP in Bihar, Visheshwar Ojha, has been killed this evening in the Bhojpur district in the central part of the state. He was shot dead in his SUV while returning from a wedding; the police says they suspect a dozen gunmen in cars and on bikes shot four times at him. He was 45.
Mr Ojha was Vice President of the BJP and was entangled in more than 10 criminal cases on charges including murder. He contested the Bihar elections last year unsuccessfully.
Police sources said that they suspect Mr Ojha's death may be the result of a long-standing enmity with a criminal named Harish Mishra who was recently freed from prison.
Mr Ojha was accompanied by his driver and another person who were also injured in the attack but are said to be out of danger.
The BJP says that this morning, another senior leader named Kedar Singh was killed in the Chappra district.
The Chief Minister has met over the last two days with top police officers from across the state to discuss law and order.
A series of recent kidnappings and deaths in Bihar have been quoted by the BJP to back its claim that since his re-election for a third term, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has done little to check growing crime. The BJP has said Bihar is cinched again by "Jungle Raj", a term that was earlier used to disparage the years of Lalu Yadav's leadership in the state. Lalu's party won the most seats in November's election, and is the junior partner in Mr Kumar's government.