Former press photographer shot dead in Nagpur

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A 50-year-old former press photographer was shot dead in his house in Nagpur's Raj Nagar area of Maharashtra on Saturday afternoon, a police official said.

The CCTV cameras installed in the house managed to get the images of the accused while he fled from the scene, the Sadar police station official added, newswire PTI reported.

"The accused entered the house of former press photographer Vinay Punekar and shot him dead before fleeing from the spot. Punekar was shot in the neck. A murder case was registered and efforts are on to nab the assailant," he said.

On February 9, senior journalist Nikhil Wagle was attacked by Bharatiya Janata Party workers at Khandoji Baba Chowk in Pune. The BJP workers were reportedly protesting Nikhil Wagle's remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and LK Advani after the ruling party veteran was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

A Deccan police station official said BJP workers threw ink on the car in which Nikhil Wagle and two others, Aseem Sarode and Vishwambhar Choudhary, were travelling under police protection to the 'Nirbhay Bano' event organised by the Rashtra Seva Dal in Singhad Road area in Pune.

Reacting sharply to the incident, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that several Maha Vikas Aghadi women workers were beaten up by "BJP goons" and eggs, stones and bricks were hurled at them, while the Pune Police remained spectators.

"Senior journalist Nikhil Wagle's car smashed, ink, eggs thrown at his car.. Brazen Bid to murder democracy by BJP in Pune... MVA will not be deterred, Shame on you Devendra Fadnavis, you are ordering your cadre to harm and injure hapless daughters of Maharashtra...Maharashtra will not forgive you," Sanjay Raut wrote on social media platform X (formally Twitter).

Another Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also reacted to the Pune incident. "Less than 24 hours since the untimely and unfortunate killing of our former corporator, Abhishek Ghosalkar and now we have this attack on activists who are critical of the BJP. Goondagardi under the gundaraj," Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote on X. (With inputs from PTI)