BJP woman leader dies in accidental firing amid stone-pelting attack at Jabalpur home

Jabalpur: A local BJP woman leader, who contested the last municipal elections on the party’s ticket, died after she was accidentally shot with a licenced rifle while allegedly trying to hand over the weapon to family members during a late-night stone-pelting attack at her house in Jabalpur’s Ranjhi area, police said on Sunday.The deceased, identified as 38-year-old Sangeeta Rajak, was at her residence in Old Shobhapur when the incident occurred. According to police, some local miscreants, who allegedly attacked the same house with crude bombs on May 28 and were absconding since then, returned to the locality late Saturday night and again targeted the house with stones.Ranjhi police station in-charge Umesh Golhani said that as stones were allegedly being hurled at the house, Sangeeta’s husband and brother-in-law rushed to the balcony. Fearing another attack, Sangeeta allegedly picked up a licenced 12-bore rifle registered in her brother-in-law Pushpendra Rajak’s name and was attempting to hand it over to them.However, during the process, the rifle allegedly went off accidentally after the trigger was pressed, and the bullet hit Sangeeta in the abdomen. Family members immediately rushed her to a private hospital, where doctors declared her dead after a preliminary examination.Police said a case of unnatural death has been registered and the body was sent for postmortem examination. Further investigation into the firing incident as well as the alleged attack by local anti-social elements is underway.Police sources said the accused involved in the earlier bombing and latest stone-pelting incidents have criminal records and are yet to be arrested. The incident has sparked concern among local residents over the deteriorating law and order situation in the area.