Guwahati: A BJP leader was killed by miscreants in Assam’s Cachar district as pre-poll violence hit the state ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

According to reports, a village panchayat president was shot dead at Lathigram area in Cachar district on Tuesday night. One more BJP leader was critically injured in the attack.

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Sukhendu Das of BJP, the village panchayat president of Haticherra village panchayat under the Udharbond Assembly constituency was returning on a motorcycle after attending an event when miscreants shot at him and his nephew who was sitting behind him.

Das and his nephew Rinku Senapati were critically injured in the attack by unidentified gunmen and they were rushed to Silchar Medical College hospital, where the BJP village panchayat president succumbed to his injuries.

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Following the incident, a top police official had rushed to the area and launched operation to nab the culprits.

“It is a very unfortunate incident. We demanded that the culprits should be punished. Sukhendu Das was a very good person. Those involved in the attack, they should be arrested at any cost,” a local resident said.

Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has asked Udharbond MLA Mihir Kanti Shome to take stock of the situation and also directed the police to take appropriate action against the attackers.

Cachar district police have apprehended two persons in connection with the attack.