Two members of a family were shot dead and four others were injured as they were returning from a Chhath Puja ceremony in Bihar’s Lakhisarai on Monday. The injured, including two women, were initially admitted to a local hospital before being transferred to Patna Medical College and Hospital for further treatment.
Lakhisarai Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar stated that three of the injured are in critical condition and added, “The matter is related to a love affair.” The accused has been identified as Ashish Chaudhary, and the police are conducting raids to arrest him. They have already recovered the murder weapon.
The incident occurred in Punjabi Mohalla, where six to seven family members were returning from Chhath when Ashish Chaudhary, who used to live in front of the victim’s house, opened fire. Six people were shot, and two of them died. The deceased have been identified as brothers Chandan Jha and Rajnandan Kumar, both 31 years old.
According to the police, Chaudhary, who fired from point-blank range, desired to marry a girl from the victims’ family but did not receive permission. The girl Chaudhary wanted to marry is among the injured, along with Lovely Kumari, Preeti Kumar, Durga Kumar, and Shashi Kumar.
The police are also questioning two other suspects in connection with the incident. The tragedy has taken a political turn, with the BJP criticizing the ruling Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance. BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla has accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of presiding over a “jungle raj” in Bihar, especially after joining hands with the RJD.
The BJP was previously in power in Bihar in alliance with Nitish Kumar’s JDU until he broke ties with them in August last year and formed a partnership with Lalu Yadav’s RJD.
The shooting occurred within the Kabaiya Police Station limits. Visuals shared by ANI showed police officers navigating a narrow lane between two houses. Armed officers were also seen outside a house in the video. The police have appealed for calm.
This news article contains inputs from various agencies.
