Bihta shoot-out: Police versions at odds; Oppn BJP raises heat

On Thursday, the police had said at least four people were killed and more than 500 empty cartridges were recovered from the shoot-out site at Amnabad-Katesar village, however, on Friday, additional director general (ADG) of police (headquarters) JS Gangwar said only one body has been recovered so far.

Conflicting versions emerged from the Bihar Police on Friday on the sensational shoot-out between two rival gangs allegedly involved in illegal sand mining on the banks of Sone river at Bihta in rural Patna the previous day, even as chief minister Nitish Kumar was addressing investors and assuring them of a good law and order situation in the state.

According to police, the shoot-out occurred in a remote area where there are heaps of sand, surrounded by water from all sides, falling under the overlapping jurisdiction of three police station areas. (HT Photo)

On Thursday, the police had said at least four people were killed and more than 500 empty cartridges were recovered from the shoot-out site at Amnabad-Katesar village under Bihta police station limits and the bodies were either thrown in the river or dumped in sand.

Shivendra Kumar Singh, a sub-inspector (SI) with Bihta police station, had even said the dead had been identified. “The four who died in the firing have been identified as Satrughan Rai, Laldeo Rai, Mukesh Singh and Nagendra Singh,” he had said.

On Friday, however, additional director general (ADG) of police (headquarters) JS Gangwar said only one body has been recovered so far and identified as of one Vimlesh Singh from Bhojpur.

Gangwar said the incident was the latest in the gang war between Umashankar Singh alias Sipahi Rai and the Faujia gang. “Two officers, along with 30 constables, have been deployed at the incident site and raids are on to nab the members of the gangs,” he said.

According to police, the shoot-out occurred in a remote area where there are heaps of sand, surrounded by water from all sides, falling under the overlapping jurisdiction of three police station areas. “Similar incident had taken place on August 18 and September 6 over control on the ghat (jetty) for sand mining,” police said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) described the incident as a reflection of the fast deteriorating law and order situation in the state. “The incident is a slap on the faces of those who claim law and order is fine in the state. If the CM feels ashamed to speak on it, though he should as he is also the home minister, the DGP should hold a press conference to explain,” said state BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand.

He said the investors called to Patna for seeking investment in the state must have returned scared. “How could the CM try to convince them about improved law and order situation in the state? But then, this is Nitish Kumar’s trait of negating the stark reality. The fact is that the state police have no clue as to how many persons lost their lives in the incident or how many rounds were fired. The CM is busy in his dream world, doing permutations and combinations, while the state is suffering. The state is paying a heavy price for wrong Prohibition and mining policies, as it has given birth of a new breed of mafia,” he said.