Patna:
Two members of a family were shot dead, and four others injured, after they were returning from a Chhath Puja ceremony in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district Monday morning. The injured, including two women, were admitted to a local hospital before three were shifted to a government hospital in Patna.
Two of the injured are in critical condition, news agency ANI reported. Lakhisarai SP Pankaj Kumar said, “The matter is related to a love affair. Police have reached the spot. Investigation is underway.”
The accused – who is on the run – has been identified as Ashish Choudhary and he reportedly shot at the family from point-blank range. Police have said he was married to one of the women – she was severely injured in the shooting and is one of the two sent to a Patna hospital for further treatment.
Police said Choudhary was enraged after the woman left him to marry another man from the village.
Two people have been detained for questioning. Police have recovered the murder weapon.
“Between 7.30 and 8 am a firing incident was reported. In this four people were injured and two died. The accused is Ashish Choudhary. About four-five years earlier he married one of the women who was shot, but she left him. She then had a relationship with another man,” SP Pankaj Kumar said.
According to the police, the woman had travelled from Patna for Chhath and to get engaged.
The horrific incident took place within the Kabaiya Police Station limits.
#WATCH | Bihar: Two members of a family were shot dead and four others were injured in Punjabi Mohalla under the Kabaiya police station of Lakhisarai. The incident took place when they were returning from Chhath Ghat after performing pooja. Three injured have been referred from… pic.twitter.com/BF0i8mAAQz
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2023
Visuals shared by ANI showed policemen filing through an impossibly narrow lane between two houses. The video also showed what seem to be armed officers standing outside a house.
The police have appealed for calm as the investigation takes its course.
With input from agencies