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RLSP candidate attacked in Bihar, escapes
Ramesh Kushwaha, who is contesting from Dhamdaha seat, said two people opened fire in his office on Saturday night
A candidate of Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), who is contesting from Dhamdaha assembly constituency in the ongoing three-phase Bihar polls, had a narrow escape on Saturday night when two unidentified persons opened fire on him while he was sitting in his party office.
The Dhamdaha assembly constituency falls in Bihar’s Purnia district in the state’s Seemanchal region.
The police are probing the incident, which took place a week after the Janata Dal (Rashtrawadi)’s candidate from the Sheohar assembly seat was shot dead during a campaign trail.
Ramesh Kushwaha, the RLSP candidate from the Dhamdaha assembly seat, said: “I was holding talks with my workers at about 10 pm after the end of the day’s campaign on Saturday, when two unidentified persons entered a party room and started firing indiscriminately.”
He added; “I managed to escape by hiding in another room.”
He has demanded security detail for himself.
“Earlier, too, we had demanded security detail, but it fell on the police’s deaf ears,” he alleged.
“Our party workers are also being threatened,” he alleged.
Anand Kumar Pandey, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Purnia, is investigating the incident.
“We will ascertain the facts soon,” Pandey said.
Kushwaha has lodged a first information report (FIR) at the local police station against the two unidentified persons.
Seemanchal, which consists of Katihar, Araria, Kishanganj and Purnia districts, has 24 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly and goes to polls on November 7.
The election results will be declared on November 10.
This is the first assembly election being held amid the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
