Unidentified assailants shot and killed a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker in the Maoist-affected town of Ambagarh Chowki, situated in the Mohla-Manpur district of Chhattisgarh on Friday.
Police reported that Birju Taram, a resident of Sarkheda village, was fatally shot by a group of unidentified individuals while he was walking outside his home on Friday evening.
Taram, the former Manpur division general secretary, currently held the position of deputy president in the BJP’s farmers unit. Ravindra Singh, the secretary of BJP’s Rajnandgaon district, mentioned, “Sarkheda is a village plagued by Naxal activity. Sarju Tekam, a tribal leader, openly threatened to harm BJP leaders during a public speech in the presence of a Congress MLA.
Several months ago, unidentified individuals desecrated a Durga idol in Sarkheda. We suspect that our party worker Taram was murdered due to his association with the worship of the Durga idol.”
Following the revelation of the murder, senior BJP leaders swiftly turned to social media. They drew parallels between Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, emphasizing the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and characterizing the murder as a deliberate and targeted killing.
Raman Singh, the former three-time Chief Minister and a vice president of the BJP, expressed, “The law and order situation in Chhattisgarh has deteriorated to a level reminiscent of West Bengal. As the election process has commenced, BJP workers are facing significant pressure.”
“Today, near Aundhi, our senior party worker, Birjhu Taram, who warmly welcomed me on stage and was part of our rally, was brutally murdered. His only ‘crime’ is being a BJP worker who supports the worship of the Durga idol. Some individuals had issued threats, and it appears that this incident is a result of those threats. The government has failed in providing security to BJP workers. I hold the government and local administration responsible for this incident because they failed to take action against the individual who made the threat. Timely action could have prevented this tragedy,” he said.
Arun Sao, overseeing the BJP party in Chhattisgarh, stated, “Yet another BJP worker has been tragically lost. This is a deliberate act, similar to what occurred earlier this year. Their intent is to instill fear in the hearts of our workers, but we will not be intimidated. The sacrifices made will not be in vain. We are determined to triumph over the Congress party in the upcoming election and restore law and order in Chhattisgarh.” Earlier this year, four BJP leaders and functionaries fell victim to Maoist attacks.
