Jayanti Bhanushali, a former vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat, was shot dead by unidentified persons in a train early on Tuesday, PTI reported. Bhanushali was travelling from Bhuj to Ahmedabad in the Sayaji Nagari Express.
The 53-year-old was shot dead around 2 am between the Gandhidham and Surajbari stations in Kutch district, Morbi district’s Superintendent of Police Karanraj Vaghela was quoted as saying.
“The railway police informed the Morbi police that Bhanushali was shot dead in the train,” he said. “When the train reached Maliya station of Morbi, we recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem.”
Two bullets were fired at Bhanushali, said Vaghela, citing preliminary findings. “We also recovered some empty bullet cases from the compartment and sent them for forensic examination,” he said. Bhanushali was shot in the eye and chest, reported NDTV.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said a thorough investigation into the murder would be conducted and strict action would be taken against those guilty, ANI reported. The Western Railways has formed a special investigation team, headed by Deputy Superintendent PP Viroja, to look into the incident, reported the Hindustan Times.
Bhanushali had resigned as the state BJP vice president after a 21-year-old woman from Surat accused him of rape. He had denied the allegations. The woman later withdrew the case from the Gujarat High Court.
Bhanushali was a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2012.
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