2 Suspects Held in Connection With Mandsaur BJP Leader Murder

The Rajasthan police arrested Manish Bairagi, the main accused in the murder of BJP leader Prahlad Bandhwar.

Manish Bairagi, the main accused in connection with the murder of BJP leader Prahlad Bandhwar

(Photo Courtesy: ANI)

The Rajasthan police on Saturday, 19 January, arrested Manish Bairagi, the main accused in connection with the murder of BJP leader Prahlad Bandhwar, reported Zee News.

Prahlad Bandhwa was shot dead near Central Bank in Mandsaur’s Nai Abadi on Thursday, 17 January.

According to The Times of India, police have nabbed two suspects in the murder, Bairagi and co-accused Ankit Maheshwari, who were rounded up in Ratlam.

Bandhwar’s son had filed an FIR in the case, which has two eyewitnesses. The witnesses claimed that Bairagi spoke with the BJP leader for a few minutes and touched his feet before shooting him at a point-blank range.

A land dispute triggered the murder, police said, according to TOI.

When Bairagi’s name came up as the suspect in the murder, there were suspicions that he was a BJP worker, considering his social media page was filled with BJP rallies. However, the party has denied reports that Bairagi is a BJP worker.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minsiter Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed his grief over the BJP leader’s demise. He said that he has requested Chief Minister Kamal Nath to order a top-level investigation into the matter.

“He played a huge role in promoting the BJP in Mandsaur. He used to work for the poor, even fought for the rights of the common people and was always concerned about the development of Mandsaur.”

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister to ANI

However, Kamal Nath said there was no need for a big investigation in the case.

(With inputs from Zee News, TOI and ANI)