Bihar: BSP leader killed by armed men in Buxar, son fighting for survival
Protesters hit the streets and blocked traffic on the Buxar-Rohtas highway for over three hours as news of Khunti Yadav’s killing spread. Police personnel have been deployed in strength to prevent any untoward incident.
Tension gripped Buxar after a gang of unidentified men shot at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) general secretary Khunti Yadav and his son on Friday evening, killing the veteran leader on the spot. His son, Yashwant Kumar, is fighting for survival at a local hospital.
Protesters hit the streets and blocked traffic on the Buxar-Rohtas highway for over three hours as news of the incident spread, demanding that police arrest the culprits immediately and provide adequate security to Yadav’s family members. Party supporters also entered into a scuffle with police officers at the hospital on Saturday.
Town police station house officer Awinash Kumar said the incident took place when Kumar and Yadav, who was also the former head of Nadaon village, were returning home after closing their medical shop around 9.30 pm. Their vehicle had hardly reached the Itadhi railway crossing when four people ambushed them and began firing indiscriminately. While Yadav died en route to the Sadar Hospital in Buxar, his son was referred to a medical institution in Varanasi for better treatment.
Police said that although Yadav and his son had a licensed rifle and a gun in the vehicle for self-protection, they did not get a chance to defend themselves. Nobody has been arrested so far, an officer said, adding that old animosity could be the reason for the killings.
Superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar said a large number of security personnel have been deployed in the area to prevent any untoward situation. A search has also been launched to nab those named in the FIR lodged by Yadav’s family members, he added.
Yadav is the second BSP leader to be killed in Buxar in the last three years. Party politician Pradip Chaudhary was shot dead by armed assailants near Mathila village on May 1, 2016. A resident of Baruhan village, Chaudhary had unsuccessfully contested the assembly election from Dumraon in 2015.