BJP leader beheads friend in Agra

The local BJP leaders however said that they had no knowledge of Bhargava's association with the party

A BJP leader allegedly beheaded his friend, a bullion trader and also a worker of the saffron party, in Uttar Pradesh's Agra town, about 350 kilometres from here.

According to the police sources here, Tinku Bhargava, who was an office bearer of the district unit of the BJP, allegedly beheaded the victim, identified as Naveen Verma, before shooting him dead on Thursday night.

Bhargava was caught by the cops in the wee hours of Friday while he, with the help of a friend of his, was looking for a place to dump the severed head and the body near the forested Sikandra Arsena area on the outskirts of the town, sources said.

Police officials in Agra said that the severed head and the body were recovered from the car of Bhargava, who, during questioning, confessed to perpetrating the crime.

Police said that Bhargava, who knew Verma well, called the latter on Thursday evening to join a liquor party. He later shot him dead and then allegedly severed his head. ''The assailants severed the victim's head and also stripped him to prevent his identification,'' said a senior police official in Agra on Friday.

The motive behind the gruesome killing was yet to be ascertained though sources said that the assailant had been having an affair with the victim's wife and wanted to eliminate him.

The local BJP leaders said that they had no knowledge of Bhargava's association with the party. ''He may be a small-time leader..... it is not known if if he is also an office bearer,'' said a local BJP leader in Agra.