Ranchi, Aug 3 - A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing leader has been shot dead by unidentified assailants here, police said Monday.

Suraj Sao alias Guddu, vice president of the BJP's youth wing in Ranchi, was killed at Ratu Road here Sunday night. Police have yet to ascertain the reason behind the murder.

The BJP has served a 48-hour ultimatum to the police to arrest the culprits and have threatened a strike to protest the killing.

In a separate incident, policemen killed a man who is accused of murdering a forest official.

According to the police, two youths were coming to Dornada area of Ranchi from Namkom at around at 12.15 a.m. Sunday. Police, following a tip-off on the movement of criminals in the area, had launched a search operation.

Two men on a motorbike were asked to stop near Ghahra area of Namkom and Dornada road, but they fled and fired at the police instead. In the exchange of gunfire, one youth identified as Vikki Gaud was killed. Gaud is one of the men accused of murdering forest ranger Anil Kumar Singh July 4 in Ranchi.

The other accused in the murder, Arun Tirkey, has already surrendered to police.