by Alok Mohit
PATNA: Two motorcycle-borne assailants opened indiscriminate firing at pedestrians in crowded areas along NH 31 and NH 28 in Bihar’s Begusarai district on Tuesday, leaving at least one killed and 11 others injured.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants entered the district from Samastipur border. They are yet to be identified and the reason behind the mass shooting is not known, police said.
A police officer said the gunmen arrived on a motorcycle at Malhipur Chowk in Begusarai town, 127 km east of state capital Patna, around 5pm on Tuesday and opened fire targeting shops in the busy area. Panicked people started running for their lives, while shopkeepers fled leaving their shops open.
The assailants then went to Barauni Thermal Chowk, Barauni, Teghra, Bachwara and Rajendra Bridge, and continued firing at people, he said.
Begusarai superintendent of police (SP) Yogendra Kumar told reporters that a 30-year-old man, Chandan Kumar, was killed in the incident. Eleven people were critically injured in the mayhem, the SP said. Some of the injured were admitted to the government hospital in Begusarai, while others had been sent to Patna for better treatment, he added.
“Security has been tightened in the district, and all the entry points have been sealed. Investigation is underway. Two persons have been spotted on a bike in the CCTV footage from the Bachhwara area. Police are trying to identify them We will soon nab the accused,” the SP said.
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for Begusarai bandh on Wednesday to protest against the shootout. Slamming the Bihar’s new coalition government in Bihar, Union minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh said “the law and order situation in the state ‘deteriorates… whenever a ‘mahagathbandhan government is formed.”
Singh, who represents Begusarai in Lok Sabha, said, “CM (Nitish Kumar) says that this is public rule not jungle rule and the new definition for public rule for them is to let the criminals go. The criminals fearlessly fired at several people and travelled 30 km across 4 police station areas, but they weren’t caught by police. Chief minister should give answers, people are shot because of you.”
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), a partner in the mahagathbandhan government, alleged a conspiracy behind the shooting to “malign the government’s image.
.
