BSP leader shot dead at Rajokri

Bharadwaj was one of the richest candidates in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, shot dead by two people after altercation

A Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, one of the richest candidates in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, was on Tuesday shot dead by three men at his south Delhi farmhouse, police said.

Deepak Bharadwaj (62), who was into education, hotel and real estate businesses and had declared assets worth Rs 600 crore in 2009, was shot around 8:55 am by three men who came in a dark grey Skoda car at ‘Nitesh Kunj’ farmhouse in the Rajokri area, Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar told reporters here.

“They entered the place, saying they have come for booking the place for a marriage. They went inside and started talking to Bhardwaj and shot him twice from point-blank range,” Kumar said. He said police had collected video footage of the car in which the attackers came.

“There are many angles. His family stays away from him... His wife and son stay away from him at Dwarka,” he said, when asked about his family and other connections. Bharadwaj, a B.Com degree holder, was rushed to the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital near Dhaula Kuan, where he succumbed to injuries. The autopsy will be carried out in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Bharadwaj had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a BSP ticket from West Delhi constituency but lost to the Congress’ Mahabal Mishra. He also ran Shiksha Bharti Public School in Dwarka.

According to the 2009 affidavit he filed with the Election Commission, he owned agricultural land worth Rs 368 crore, while his wife had land worth Rs 100 crore. Bharadwaj owned buildings worth Rs 28.75 crore besides other assets.