Dhanbad, August 19: A 40-year-old BJP leader was shot dead by motorbike-borne gunmen just after he got down from his vehicle at Bank More area of Dhanbad on Wednesday, police said.

Satish Singh, who was the vice-president of the party's Kendua unit in Dhanbad city, was talking on his mobile phone when two men, with their faces covered, came from behind on a motorbike, shot him on the head from point blank range and fled. Also Read | Sushant Singh Rajput Death Case: CBI Team Need to Seek Exemption From Quarantine if Plan to Stay in Mumbai For More Than 7 Days, Says BMC Chief.

When Singh was taken to a hospital, doctors declared him brought dead. "The incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed in a nearby house. We have started an investigation. The killers will be arrested soon," City Superintendent of Police R Ramkumar said. Also Read | Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl Projects the Armed Forces in a Bad Light, 'It Never Happens the Way It Has Been Shown', Says Ex-Navy Officer Sandhya Suri.

Dhanbad Sadar MLA Raj Sinha, to whom Singh was considered close, claimed that it is a political killing. "Satish had been emerging as a popular leader. So he was killed," Sinha said.

The MLA, however, did not name any political party which could be involved in the killing. He alleged that the incident is a sign of deteriorating law and order in Dhanbad where criminals can kill someone in broad daylight and flee easily.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)