4 Touch RLJP Dalit Leader’s Feet, Shoot Him Dead: Bihar’s Hajipur Tense As Supporters Go on Rampage

Fresh violence was reported in Vaishali’s Hajipur for the second consecutive day on Friday, a week after clashes in Bihar’s Nalanda and Sasaram over the Ram Navami procession in the first week of April.

The police were outnumbered as thousands of supporters went on a rampage, attacking security personnel, police vans, patrolling gypsies, and other vehicles.

It started as four masked men shot dead Rakesh Kumar Paswan, National Secretary of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party’s (RLJP) Dalit Sena, at his house in Panchdamiya of Lalganj police station area on Thursday. He was brought to Sadar Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

As the news spread, vandalism was reported at various places.

During Paswan’s funeral procession on Friday, supporters were seen flouting law and order, raising questions on state police’s capability.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THURSDAY

On Thursday, four people had gone to meet Paswan. They touched his feet and started firing indiscriminately. The villagers tried to catch the accused, but they started firing at them too. They also shot at Paswan’s brother Mukesh and his niece.

Hajipur SDPO Omprakash said the incident is being investigated. “Although the motive has not been confirmed yet, the culprits will soon be identified and arrested,” he said.

A large number of policemen has been deployed in Lalganj, while the SP and DM of the district took stock of the situation and conducted patrolling.

‘SIT FORMED; SITUATION UNDER CONTROL’

Vaishali SP Ravi Ranjan while talking to CNN-News18 said, “A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed under the leadership of Sadar SDPO Om Prakash to investigate the incident. Soon the culprits will be arrested. Adequate police force has been deployed to maintain law and order. The situation is back to normal. An attempt was made by some anti-social elements to block the road by burning tyres. The police administration has controlled the situation. Heavy police force has been deployed at various places.”

Three police vans were damaged as well as SHO Amarendra Kumar’s private vehicle was thrown into a puddle. The CCTV cameras of the shops and places where CCTV cameras were installed have been vandalised. Multiple rounds of shots were fired in the air to disperse the violent mob.

An eyewitness, Amarendra Kumar Shukla, said that a large number of miscreants tried to set the police station on fire. “Everyone was carrying a stick and was creating a ruckus.”

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