M A I N   N E W S

BJP leader shot; 3 arrested
Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Bhairupa (Bathinda), April 25
Mr Hans Raj Chopra, former Vice-President of the Rampura mandal unit of the BJP, was shot and two others were seriously injured when they were attacked by three persons in the house of Mr Mal Singh here today. The suspects, all brothers, have been arrested.

The assailants — Mukand Singh, Burjant Singh and Ajmer Singh — used country-made .12 bore pistol and “dah”, a sharp-edged weapon, in the crime. They reportedly drank liquor in a nearby house after committing the crime.

Mr Chopra, who survived a number of attacks from militants about a decade ago, and the other two were attacked when they went to the house of Mr Mal Singh to mourn the death of his son.

Mr Chopra, who was a commission agent, tried to save himself by running towards a room where fodder had been stored after he was hit by a bullet. However, he was shot again.

Mr Baljit Kumar, uncle of the deceased, who tried to save Mr Chopra was also shot at. He was injured in the thigh and has been referred to DMC, Ludhiana.

Mr Jarnail Singh, brother of the suspects, who suffered injuries to his head and upper arm, is at the Civil Hospital.

Mr Bhagwan Dass Chopra and Mr Janak Raj Chopra, brothers of the deceased, alleged that their brother was murdered at the instigation of a leader who was a member of a political party.

Mr Madan Gopal Chopra, father of the deceased, alleged that the murder was a conspiracy.

Mr Narinder Mittal and Mr Sunil Bitta, Presidents of the BJP mandal units of Bathinda and Rampura, visited the hospital and condemned the murder. Mr Murari Lal, a senior BJP leader, also expressed shock over the incident.

Dr Jatinder Kumar Jain, SSP, said no politician was involved in the murder.

Mr R.S. Bhullar, SP(D), who along with other police officials reached the spot, said there was a dispute between Mr Chopra and the suspects over a piece of agricultural land.

Dr Jain said all suspects had been arrested and the weapons used by them had been recovered.

Sources said the pistol was brought from Rajasthan by one of the suspects who was living in Sriganganagar.

Mr Chopra, who was in his 30s, suffered injuries to the chest. One of the bullets pierced through both sides of his body.

Mr Surjeet Singh, another brother of the suspects, giving an eyewitness account, said Mr Chopra was stopped by Ajmer Singh while he was stepping out of the house. Ajmer Singh first told Mr Chopra that they wanted to settle the land dispute. Even though Mr Chopra said he was willing to compromise, he was shot at. He tried to save himself but they chased him and shot him again. He died on the spot.

Mr Surjeet Singh said soon after the incident, the police was informed and it arrested the accused from a room of a house located nearby where they wre drinking liquor.

A pall of gloom has descended on this town. Shopkeepers closed their shops in protest against the murder.

A case has been registered under Sections 302, 307, 452 and 34, IPC, and Section 25 of the Arms Act. The body has been sent to the Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

I’m chief ministerial candidate: Jaya

Madurai, April 25
Unfazed by the rejection of her nomination papers for next month’s Assembly elections, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha today asserted she continued to be the chief ministerial candidate of the front headed by her and changed her campaign style, accusing Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi of having “conspired” to block her.

“The morale of the party cadre is very high and they have vowed to work for the victory of the front in the elections,” she told reporters here, asserting, “I continue to be the chief ministerial candidate.”

She ruled out any differences among allies in the wake of rejection of her papers from four constituencies yesterday and said their support was good and their relations with the AIADMK continued to be cordial. PTI

Will Cong now back Jaya, asks BJP
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 25
The Bharatiya Janata Party today asked the Congress to clarify whether it would like to support AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha in the wake of her being disqualified from contesting the coming assembly elections on corruption charges.

Talking to newspersons, BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra said such a clarification from the Congress has become necessary as it had disrupted Parliament for weeks on Tehelka allegations but had gone into an electoral alliance with a person who had several cases of corruption against her.

“Will the Congress support a person who cannot contest election? Does it consider corruption as an election issue and do they have a moral right to obstruct Parliament for so many days on the issue of corruption when they are supporting a corrupt person full?” Mr Malhotra said.

Stating that the BJP stood for probity in public life, the spokesman said that in the three years of the NDA government, not a single minister had been chargesheeted on grounds of corruption nor had the Central Vigilance Commission come out with a charge against its ministers.

The spokesman said cases against Home Minister L.K. Advani, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Sports Minister Uma Bharati in connection with the Ram Temple issue at Ayodhya were political in nature. None of the charges against them had been proved in the court till now, he said.