BJP leader Pankaj Verma shot dead in Bihar

MUNGER: A local BJP leader was today shot dead by unidentified assailants in Munger district of Bihar triggering protest by locals who indulged in stone-pelting and torched police vehicles.

Pankaj Verma was shot at by the miscreants at Maksas Bazar area when he was on his way home after offering prayers at a temple, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Sadar, Kundan Kumar said.

Verma, who was the president of the BJP district unit (farmers' front), died on spot, he said.

The incident sparked off protest by local people who threw stones at policemen and torched two police vehicles and another belonging to a Block Development Officer (BDO) of neighbouring Lakhisarai district, Kumar said.

The protesters did not let the cops take the body in their custody for post-mortem demanding arrest of the culprits, the SDO said, adding, efforts are on to pacify the crowd.