PATNA, 20 November 2004 — Four people, including a woman and a child, were shot dead allegedly by a drunk policeman after his reported attempt to rape a woman was resisted. The incident has sparked violent protests in the area, with a mob setting on fire a railway station and a police outpost.
Three people were also injured seriously when police constable Dinanath Tiwari stormed into a house at Bagha Mohalla in Begusarai late Thursday night and allegedly tried to rape a widow, police said.
As local residents protested, Tiwari allegedly fired indiscriminately with his official carbine, killing three people on the spot, they said. Another injured person died later.
Tiwari has been arrested and is being questioned, police said.
Angry villagers later set fire to the Begusarai police station and stoned police vehicles.
In another incident, four Rashtriya Janata Dal workers, including district leader Sanjay Yadav and his brother Pramod, were yesterday shot dead and five others critically injured by suspected members of a gang led by Krishna Yadav near Patam in Bihar’s Munger district, Police Superintendent J.P.N. Singh said.
Singh said the assailants, armed with sophisticated weapons, ambushed Sanjay and his party in the early hours and opened fire. Sanjay, his brother and two others, including his driver, died on the spot.
Five others, who received serious gunshot injuries, were admitted to the Sadar Hospital here where their condition was stated to be critical, he said.
Police said the area was tense and they were trying to catch the killers.
Sanjay Yadav and Krishna Yadav have been locked in a war of attrition for a long time, police said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and Railways Minister Lalu Prasad was likely to visit Munger later in the day to meet with the family members of those killed.
Bihar has a notorious reputation for being India’s most lawless state, plagued by widespread corruption in the police and administration. It is also among the least developed states in the country.
— Additional input from agencies
