Fifty-nine year-old transgender politician Daya Rani was allegedly shot down around midnight on Friday at her residence in Kaila Bhatta area of Ghaziabad. Rani had fought several elections including the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, as an independent candidate.
Her body was discovered six hours later on Saturday morning, senior police officers said.
Police also said they were close to nabbing the accused, but did not want to name him at present.
“The motive in the case seems to be a personal dispute born out of financial dealings between the two. The accused was close to the victim, and we are close to identifying the location. An arrest will be made soon. More details will emerge once questioning takes place,” Senior SP, Ghaziabad, Dharmender Yadav said.
The accused probably entered the transgender’s house through a friendly route and it looks like a well-planned murder, says the police.
“The shooting took place at a time when a train was passing by, which muffled the sound of the gunshot. This is why the body was only discovered in the morning when someone entered Rani’s room and saw her lying in a pool of blood. Further investigations are underway,” said a senior officer.
Rani had earlier fought the local body elections, the Assembly polls in 2009 as well as the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.