Former Gujarat BJP Vice President and former MLA from the Abdasa constituency in Kutch, Jayanti Bhanushali, was shot dead in the first-class compartment of Sayaji Nagri Express (19116) on Tuesday, 8 January. Bhanushali was on his way from Bhuj to Ahmedabad.
According to sources in the police department, Bhanushali had boarded the H-1 bogie and was allotted the ‘G’ cabin, which he shared with another passenger Pawan Mori, who boarded the train from Gandhidham in Kutch; the cabin had four berths.
Bhanushali was shot dead by unknown assailants between Kataria and Surbari stations.
The train at that time was traversing through Morbi-Rajkot and made an emergency stop at Maliya Miyana railway station, where the body was brought out of the compartment and the whole bogie was sealed. The train then reached Ahmedabad.
According to sources in the police department the police are hunting for two unidentified assailants who used muzzle suppressor (silencer). A panel post-mortem will be conducted at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.
The current Gujarat BJP Vice President IK Jadeja told The Quint, “A statement will be issued soon by state President Jitu Vaghani.”
Bhanushali was in the news last year for allegedly raping a 21-year-old girl from Surat on multiple occasions. However, the Gujarat High Court quashed the rape case against Bhanushali on 7 August 2018, after accepting the complainant's affidavit seeking withdrawal of the complaint as she has ‘settled the issue amicably’ with him.
In his petition, Bhanushali had claimed that he was honey-trapped by a gang led by one Manisha Goswami, who is now behind bars. Goswami had earlier tried to extort money from Sunil Bhanushali his relative, but the latter approached the police and she was arrested, the petition said. To take revenge, the gang targeted him, the BJP leader had claimed in his plea.
(with inputs from PTI and ANI)
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