The incident occurred on Wednesday during the Atal Smriti Sammelan held at the Habitat Centre under the Civil Lines police station area. Rakesh Sahay, city general secretary of the BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha, accused the gunman of BJP Aligarh city president Engineer Rajiv Sharma of misbehaving with party workers and aiming a weapon at him during an argument.

Speaking to the media, Sahay alleged that the act was discriminatory. “It happened because I am Dalit. Carbines will be pointed at us and cases will be filed against us. This gunman has been kept to intimidate workers, not for security,” he claimed.

According to eyewitnesses, the dispute began when BJP regional president Durvijay Singh Shakya arrived at the venue. As he moved from the fifth floor towards the auditorium, several party workers, including Sahay, attempted to take selfies with him. During this time, a brief scuffle broke out after workers were allegedly pushed aside, leading to arguments between the city president’s entourage and party members.

Tensions escalated again during the welcome ceremony on stage when Sahay, former mandal president Sanjay Sharma and Gorang Tiwari stepped forward to greet the regional president. They were reportedly stopped by the city president’s gunman, resulting in heated exchanges. Senior leaders intervened and temporarily calmed the situation.

However, after the programme concluded and the regional president left the venue, a fresh confrontation took place. During the argument, the gunman allegedly pulled out his carbine and pointed it at Sahay, causing panic among party workers. Other BJP leaders and security staff intervened to defuse the situation.

Metropolitan vice-president Sanjay Goyal confirmed that workers were only trying to take photographs and objected strongly to the display of a firearm. He said the matter would be formally reported to the BJP’s state leadership. “There was pushing and arguments, but pointing a weapon is unacceptable,” he said.

City president Engineer Rajiv Sharma denied the allegations, claiming that some workers created chaos and manhandled the gunman when he tried to control the crowd. He said the episode had harmed the party’s image.

Following the incident, the gunman, identified as Anoop Kumar, submitted a written complaint to Senior Superintendent of Police Neeraj Jadoun. Police officials said CCTV footage from the venue is being examined and an investigation is underway to ascertain the sequence of events.

The incident has sparked unease within local BJP ranks, with leaders calling for accountability and restraint at party functions.