2 min readBhopalApr 1, 2026 12:03 AM IST
A BJP municipal councillor was shot dead in broad daylight in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Tuesday, with investigators suspecting a revenge killing linked to an earlier murder case could be the motive.
Kallu Kushwaha, a councillor from Ward No. 1 of Datia Nagar Palika, was attacked near the Sewda Chungi area at around 9 am while returning home after offering prayers at a temple. Eyewitness accounts and preliminary findings indicate that three assailants intercepted him and opened fire from close range, hitting him multiple times in the head, chest and back. He collapsed on the spot and died before any help could arrive.
Datia Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Akansha Jain said, “We received information at around 9 am that a murder incident occurred near the Seondha Chungi area… We sent the body to the district hospital for postmortem and collected evidence from the spot.”
The brazen killing in a busy locality triggered panic among residents, with crowds gathering at the scene shortly after the shooting. Police teams sealed off the area and began combing the area, while also reviewing CCTV footage from nearby establishments to identify the attackers.
Investigators suspect that Tuesday’s killing could be an act of retaliation. The councillor’s family members have named multiple suspects in their complaint.
Kushwaha had switched to the BJP ahead of the 2022 civic polls and won the municipal election from Ward No. 1. Police sources said he had been named in multiple criminal cases since 2011.
Multiple teams have been formed to track down the accused, and raids are underway at several locations.
