Surender Matiala, a Kisan Morcha leader of the Delhi BJP was shot dead in Dwarka’s Bindapur area on Friday, April 14. According to the police, BJP leader was shot dead in his office in Dwarka by unidentified bike-borne assailants on Friday evening. Delhi Police has formed multiple teams to arrest the accused.
As per police sources, Surender Matiala was working in his office at the time of the incident. All of a sudden, two unknown assailants opened the door of the office and shot Surendra Matiala with five bullets. Although he was taken to a hospital immediately, he was declared dead upon arrival. Matiala was the leader of BJP’s district Najafgarh Kisan Morcha.
“At this stage, the motive is not clear. We are investigating from all angles. Police teams are scanning CCTV cameras in the area to identify the culprits,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka), M. Harsha Vardhan.
Police have recorded the statements of those present at the spot at the time of the incident. As of now, the family members have not raised any suspicion about anyone so far. A case of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered and sections of the Arms Act have also been added by the police.
VHP leader and lawyer attacked in Kodagu, Karnataka
Meanwhile, the day before on Thursday April 13, the Kodagu district president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) P Krishnamurthy escaped an attack on his life after he was shot at by unidentified assailants.
A complaint in this regard has been filed at the Madikeri Rural police station. P Krishna Murthy, an advocate by profession, has been actively involved with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad since 2021. He regularly appears in court to fight several cases filed against Hindu activists across the state.
He was also fighting the case on behalf of the men accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case in Karnataka.
On Wednesday evening, P Krishnamurthy left his office in Madikeri and visited his colleague and fellow advocate BU Cariappa at Chettalli around 7 pm. The two then left towards Kushalnagar to meet VHP worker Vinu and Bajrang Dal worker Shivaswami to hold discussions about the organizations’ workings.
The four reportedly had dinner at a local restaurant in Kushalnagar following which Krishnamurthy and Cariappa left for Chettalli. The two reached Chettalli around 9.50 pm. Krishnamurthy then dropped Cariappa off at Ponnathmotte. Krishnamurthy then left towards Madikeri via Chettalli Road.
“At around 11.05 pm, I was in my car and I had reached Abbyala when I heard a loud sound. The window above the car door on the left shattered as a bullet pierced it. I sped away from the spot,” Krishna Murthy shared.
The advocate said that someone had tried to fire at him with a gun but missed the target. He later visited the police station and a FIR has been filed in this regard.
Meanwhile, Bar association members condemned the attack on advocate Krishnamurthy and demanded the police take swift action against the miscreants.
The Karnataka spokesperson of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Mohan Gowda suspected a PFI or Naxalite hand behind the attack and urged police to take the attacks seriously and nab the culprits. He said it is suspected that this attack is an attempt to put pressure on the pro-Hindu lawyers in the Gauri Lankesh case. Although advocate Krishnamurthy survived the attack, the possibility of another attack on him cannot be ruled out. So he needs armed police protection. Mr. Gowda also said that it is imperative to investigate which radical Jihadi organization like the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) is behind this cowardly attack, or Naxalites who used to support Gauri Lankesh.
“This attack is an attack on Hindutva. We are demanding that this organized crime be broken and the mastermind behind must be found. In this regard, we will soon meet the Director General of Police of Karnataka and make the above demand to him as well,” Gowda added.
