Datia (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 31 (ANI): A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor was shot dead in broad daylight by unidentified assailants in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district on Tuesday, a police officer said.

The councillor has been identified as Kallu Kushwaha and he was shot near Seondha Chungi area around 9 am in the district.

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Datia Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Akansha Jain said, "We received information at around 9 am this morning that a murder incident occurred near the Seondha Chungi area. Acting on it, we reached the spot and learned that the deceased has been identified as Kallu Kushwaha. Thereafter, we sent the body to the district hospital for postmortem and collected evidence from the spot."

The police began an investigation into the matter and efforts are on to nab the unknown accused, the officer added.

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According to information, Kushwaha was returning home after offering prayers at a Hanuman temple in the area and during this, some unknown armed miscreants surrounded him and opened fire. The accused fired multiple gunshot wounds on the councillor, resulting in him dying on the spot.

Meanwhile, BJP Spokesperson Ashish Agarwal said that there is zero-tolerance government in the state and no criminals will be spared at any cost, stressing strict action will be taken against those involved in the incident.

"The tragic incident has come to our notice and I would like to say that Madhya Pradesh has a zero-tolerance government under the BJP, and no criminal has been spared in the past, nor will any be spared in the future. Strict action will be taken in this matter," Agarwal said.

On the contrary, Congress spokesperson Manak Agarwal slammed the state government accusing the law and order in the state has collapsed and the Chief Minister who also holds home minister post should immediately resign from the post.

"The way the BJP councillor was murdered in Datia suggests that law and order in Madhya Pradesh has completely collapsed. The Chief Minister himself also holds the Home Minister post, and despite that, such a situation prevails in the state that even a member of his own party has been killed. Even after this, the government has not yet come into action. The Chief Minister should step forward and resign, stating that he is unable to handle the law and order situation," the Congress spokesperson said. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)