Samajwadi Party leader shot dead in Uttar Pradesh

Om Kumar Yadav, 55, a member of the Samajwadi Party district unit, was killed late Tuesday inside his house in Jatepur locality. Yadav's family rushed him to a hospital where he later died.

Police are yet to trace the assailants. "Till now, we have not able to establish the motive behind the crime.  Investigations are being carried out to identify the assailants," police inspector A.K. Shahi told reporters in Gorakhpur, some 300 km from Lucknow.

"The SP leader died of bullet injuries in his head," he added. The murder sparked protests by a large number of Samajwadi Party  activists, who Wednesday carried out demonstrations in parts of Gorakhpur demanding the arrest of those behind the killing.