After Rathee gunned down, INLD's Chautala blames Haryana govt for denying security

INLD leader Abhay Chautala targeted the Haryana government after its state president Nafe Singh Rathee was gunned down near Delhi on Sunday.

Unidentified gunmen ambushed the former MLA, and sprayed bullets on his car at Bahadurgarh in Haryana's Jhajjar district. One other party member who was with Rathee also died. Three private gunmen, whom Rathee had hired for security, received injuries.

Chautala accused the government of failing to provide Rathee with security despite there being threat to his life, and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister Anil Vij.

"The two-time MLA, who is our state unit chief, was not provided with security. In writing, representations had been made to senior police officers and state home minister that he was facing threats and should be provided with security," he said.

"Had he been provided with security, such a situation would not have arisen," Chautala said.

Chautala later visited the hospital in Bahadurgarh where the bodies were kept. Speaking to reporters there, he demanded a CBI probe into the incident.

The attack, which came weeks before the Lok Sabha elections, drew sharp reactions from opposition parties, which alleged a breakdown in law and order in the BJP-ruled state.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said he spoke to officials and ordered them to take immediate action in the matter. He said the Special Task Force is probing the matter and the culprits will be nabbed soon.

Jhajjar Superintendent of Police Arpit Jain told reporters, "Multiple teams are probing all angles and we will try to arrest the accused soon."

Rathee, aged around 70, was travelling in an SUV when the assailants, who were in a car, attacked him. "A volley of bullets was sprayed at him," Chautala said.

Doctors at the hospital said that Rathee had suffered injuries in neck, stomach, spine and thigh and suffered heavy blood loss.

Rathee was elected MLA from Bahadurgarh twice in 1996 and 2005.

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