A village sarpanch was among 12 booked on charges of murder after a local Congress leader was shot dead by assailants in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Sunday night, PTI reported. The Congress leader’s son was critically injured during the assault.

Nearly a dozen armed assailants fled after they fired at 50-year-old Kailash Singh outside his home in Ruhera village, said Mayank Awasthi, district superintendent of police. Singh died on the spot, and his son Kuldeep was taken to Gwalior for treatment.

Singh was the district vice president of the Congress party’s farmers’ wing. The police suspect political rivalry behind the incident.

Twelve people, including village sarpanch Janak Singh, face murder and attempt to murder charges. Further investigations are under way.