Attackers throw chilli powder at police, shoot dead gangster on Bihar court premises

The gangster, Abhisekh Jha, was recently found guilty of murdering two engineers in Darbhanga. Police suspect that he was murdered by members of a rival gang.

A gangster convicted in the murder of two engineers was shot dead by suspected rivals on the premises of a court in Bihar’s East Champaran district on Monday.

A country-made firearm and five live cartridges were recovered from the scene of the crime.(AFP/ For representational purposes only)

Police said Abhishek Jha was being taken into the Dhaka-Shikarhana court building when two motorcycle-borne men fired at him. The gangster, who suffered three bullet injuries, died en route to the Motihari Sadar Hospital.

The attackers allegedly threw chilli powder at Jha’s police escorts before making their escape. Lawyer Satyendra Kumar told HT over the phone that security personnel did not shoot at them for fear of harming others in the vicinity.

Jha, who belonged to a gang led by Santosh Jha and Mukesh Pathak, was recently found guilty of murdering Mukesh Kumar and Brajesh Kumar – two engineers employed by a private road-laying firm – while they were inspecting a site near Darbhanga’s Shivrampur village on December 26, 2015. Police said the two were killed with an AK-47 assault rifle.

Jha, lodged at Sheohar jail, was being produced at the sub-judicial judicial magistrate’s court in connection with a 2006 case when the incident occurred.

Tirhut inspector general Sunil Kumar said he has directed East Champaran superintendent of police Upendra Sharma to investigate the case. “We intend to ascertain if Abhishek was shot at by rivals, or if this is just a case of an attempted rescue gone wrong,” he added.

Police said Jha was arrested for murdering the engineers on March 7, 2016, and awarded life imprisonment on March 8 this year. A country-made firearm and five live cartridges were recovered from the scene of the crime.

Another gangster, Mithilesh Dubey alias Babloo, was gunned down on the premises of a Bettiah court on May 17. East Champaran police had earlier recommended that trials of hardcore criminals be held through video-conferencing, as they often get targeted during court appearances.

Lawyers of the Dhaka-Shikarhana court have announced a multi-phased agitation to seek better safety arrangements on the premises.