GREATER NOIDA: A 25-year-old local BJP worker was shot just outside the party office in Dankaur late on Monday night allegedly by two brothers of a party candidate for the upcoming nagar panchayat election.He was rushed to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. One of the accused has been arrested, police said.Sagar Sharma, a former jeweller, was killed by brothers, Deepak and Manoj Verma, cousins of BJP candidate Sonu Verma , a couple of hours after he met local BSP candidate Ajay Bhati, his elder brother Abhimanyu said on Tuesday."An hour before the murder, Sagar had gone to meet Bhati. He might may offered his support to Bhati in the polls, slated for November 26," he said.Abhimanyu said Sagar was walking towards their house with him around 11.30 pm on Monday when Deepak and Manoj suddenly arrived on a scooterette and forcibly took his brother along them."The duo caught Sagar from behind, and took him to the party office at gunpoint, where Deepak fired at his chest from a close range. I have witnessed the crime as I was standing at a distance since the BJP office is close to our house," he told TOI.He said that earlier too, Deepak had given threats to kill Sagar, who had learnt the jewellery work at the former's shop."Sagar was in ninth standard when he started working with Deepak. However, he recently started working independently. It was since then that jealousy was brewing in Deepak's heart. He had started earning very well and it was because of Deepak that he had to shut the shop," Abhimanyu said.A local BJP worker, Mayank Sharma , said that Sagar was an active party worker and had even participated in a programme on Friday, where Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma had presided over."He had been with us all this while throughout the campaign. However, I received a call from him on Monday evening when he said that Deepak was misbehaving and troubling him. I asked him to return home but he was complaining that he has used foul words against him and even said that he would gun him down," Mayank said.BSP candidate Bhati confirmed that Sagar and around 15 youths had indeed come to his office — around 500 metres from the BJP office — and told him they wanted to leave the saffron party and support the BSP in the Dankaur nagar panchayat election. "They remained in my office for some time and left after promising their support to me. I left the office around 10.15 pm. The crime took place after that," Bhati told the media.An FIR has ben registered against Manoj and Deepak under sections 302 (murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC."Deepak is absconding, but his elder brother Manoj has been nabbed. The revolver used in the crime was a licensed firearm owned by Deepak," a police officer said.

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