Congress leader killed, relative injured as BJP worker rams motorcycle in Chhattisgarh; protests erupt

NEW DELHI: A local Congress leader was killed, and his sister-in-law injured, after a BJP worker allegedly rammed his car into their motorcycle in Chhattisgarh’s Kondagaon district, police said on Saturday.
According to news agency PTI, the incident occurred near Dogri Guda village on Friday evening, and the accused has been taken into custody, an official confirmed.
According to the police, Hemant Bhoyar (30), a Youth Congress leader and panch of Mulmula village, was riding to the local market with his sister-in-law, Champi, when the accused, Purendra Kaushik, hit their motorcycle with his car and fled the spot.

Champi, the sarpanch of Mulmula village, had defeated Kaushik in the recent panchayat elections, police said. Locals rushed both victims to the hospital, but Bhoyar succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
The official said Kaushik has been detained, though a formal case is yet to be registered, and an investigation is underway.
Bhoyar’s family has alleged that the incident was not accidental but a targeted attack driven by political rivalry. “Kaushik has been targeting him and even threatened him of dire consequences after the panchayat polls. Kaushik killed him when he got the opportunity on Friday,” the deceased’s brother alleged.
On Friday night, Bhoyar’s relatives and Congress supporters staged a protest at the local police station, demanding Kaushik’s arrest. The Congress also organized a sit-in protest outside the district hospital and on the national highway, claiming that Bhoyar’s killing was premeditated.
Former minister Mohan Markam joined the protest and said, “Kaushik had killed Bhoyar and injured the village sarpanch, and the police had arrested the accused following the intense protests of locals and Congress workers.”