SP leader shot dead in Varanasi

Varanasi, May 11 (IANS) A Samajwadi Party (SP) leader was shot dead here on Friday, police said.

Prabhu Sahni, the secretary of the SP’s youth wing in the Hindu holy city, was shot dead at the Sindhia Ghat when he was returning from a temple.

An police official said the killing of Sahni, who had a criminal record and many cases against him, could have stemmed into a long-simmering dispute over berthing of boats at the ghat. "We are looking for the suspects after talking to his family," the official told IANS.

Sahni was returning from the Sankata temple, which he visited every day, when some unidentified assailants accosted him and shot him thrice in the chest. Wounded critically, he was taken to a nearby medical facility where doctors declared him dead.

Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.