Varanasi, May 11: A Samajwadi Party (SP) leader was shot dead here on Friday, police said.

Prabhu Sahni, the secretary of the SP's youth wing in the Hindu holy city, was shot dead at the Sindhia Ghat when he was returning from a temple.

An police official said the killing of Sahni, who had a criminal record and many cases against him, could have stemmed into a long-simmering dispute over berthing of boats at the ghat. "We are looking for the suspects after talking to his family," the official told IANS.

Sahni was returning from the Sankata temple, which he visited every day, when some unidentified assailants accosted him and shot him thrice in the chest. Wounded critically, he was taken to a nearby medical facility where doctors declared him dead.

Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Tumakuru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said his recent remarks on the demolition of properties linked to those involved in narcotics trade were "misunderstood and misinterpreted".

His clarification follows remarks made two days ago on the government's uncompromising crackdown on the drug menace, including action against properties linked to foreign nationals allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

"It is unfortunate. It is taken in the wrong sense. I didn't mean that tomorrow itself I am going to send bulldozers and demolish the houses. That was not my intention. It was wrongly taken," he told reporters here.

Responding to Congress MLC K Abdul Jabbar's question in the legislative council on the growing drug menace in Bengaluru, Davangere and coastal districts, the minister on Thursday detailed the extensive enforcement measures initiated since the Congress government assumed office.

Pointing to the involvement of some foreign nationals, the minister had said, "Many foreign students from African countries have come to Karnataka. They are into the drug business. We catch them and register cases against them, but they want the case to be registered because once the case is registered, we cannot deport them."

"We have gone to the extent of demolishing the rented building where they stay," he had said.