Bahujan Samaj
Party leader Mohammad Shami was shot dead in Allahabad district on Sunday
night, hours after Hindutva hardliner Yogi Adityanath administered the oath as
chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Bike-borne assailants shot at Shami in the
town of Mau Aima, according to report,
and Shami died on the spot. The police arrived soon after and said five bullets
had been fired at Shami.
Shami had moved
from the Samajwadi Party to the BSP right before this year’s Assembly
elections.
The Bharatiya Janata
Party had won the Uttar Pradesh elections by a huge mandate, while the once
powerful BSP won fewer than 20 seats.