Firing in South Delhi kills BSP leader Deepak Bhardwaj, injures 2

The owner of a farmhouse in South Delhi was killed and two other people injured after two men opened fire in the Rajkot area of South Delhi this morning. The farmhouse owner Deepak Bhardwaj had contested polls on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket from West Delhi constituency in 2009. Police say Bhardwaj was the main target in the attack. [caption id=“attachment_675348” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image used for representative purpose only. AFP[/caption] According to reports, three men, driving a black BMW entered the premises, had an argument with Bhardwaj and shot him. The reports added Bhardwaj was the richest candidate for 15th lok sabha elections with declared assets amounting to be 614 crores. The 58-year-old tycoon owned businesses in real estate, hotels and education. He ran a school in Dwarka and claimed plans to open two more schools- one in Dwarka and the other in Dhansa, both in West Delhi. A resident of Lajwanti Garden in West Delhi, Bhardwaj also owned a township project in Hardwar and a hotel on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway. The police are reportedly carrying out raids in the area. The reason for the attack is not yet known and the family is reportedly being questioned to find out if the owner had some ‘personal enemies’. Delhi’s gun violence is not entirely new. As per a 2011 survey by CAFI, which was set up in New Delhi in 2004, 12 Indians are shot dead every day, taking the toll to almost 5000 a year. Last year in November, liquor baron Ponty Chadha was killed over a family feud about a property in a farmhouse in close proximity to this one. Chadha also had a large business empire and was closely connected to the BSP.