A 25-year-old 'Raagini' singer was shot dead by unidentified assailants near her residence in Greater Noida on Tuesday, 1 October night, police said. It was around 8.30 pm when two motorcycle-borne assailants sprayed Sushma Nekpur with bullets near Mitra Society under Beta II police station limits, a senior officer said, according to PTI.
Nekpur had just returned to her society and gotten out of the car when the attackers opened fire on her, reports said.
“She was returning from a programme in adjoining Bulandshahr district when the attack took place. She got hit by three to four bullets and was rushed to a hospital where she died,” Gautam Buddh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said.
An FIR under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) has been registered and an investigation is underway, he said, according to PTI.
Had Been Attacked Earlier As Well
Nekpur had earlier survived an attack during a programme in Mehsana village of Bulandshahr on 19 August this year, Krishna said.
“She had approached the local police station after that attack and an FIR was lodged there. She had gone to Bulandshahr to also pursue probe in that matter today,” he added.
The SSP said the Noida Police has gathered some crucial evidence related to her killing and will soon unearth the entire episode.
Singer Faced Threats to Her Life, Was Involved in Multiple Disputes
Nekpur, a folk singer by profession, was staying in a Greater Noida apartment with her live-in partner Gajendra Bhati, the police said.
She got divorced from her husband in 2014, the police added. The police also reportedly said that the singer was in the middle of a dispute with her ex-husband. According to Quint Hindi, even after the divorce, the singer’s former husband used to follow her often. Nekpur had reportedly filed a complaint with the police regarding this.
According to her neighbours, Nekpur was having a dispute over land in her village and had also had differences with some people due to her fame as a folk singer.
Singer Nursed Political Ambitions
Quint Hindi reported that Nekpur wanted to get a strong foothold in politics owing to these disputes and the threats to her life.
Sachin, the man who was driving Nekpur’s car at the time of the incident, said that the singer was planning to join BJP.
She had previously visited the BJP’s office to speak about her membership and had also gone there on Tuesday to discuss some other matters.
Nekpur was also reportedly a part of Bahujan Samaj Party during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. While she was eager to contest the elections then, the party had not given her a ticket, Quint Hindi reported.
(With inputs from Quint Hindi.)
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