Property dealer shot in Patna City

PATNA: Close on the heels of a medicine trader’s murder, a 45-year-old property dealer, Ramashish Singh, was shot dead by armed criminals over a property dispute at Mirchi village under the Bypass police station area in Patna City sub-division late on Sunday night.
Police said a group of armed criminals attacked Singh while he was returning home from Patna on a motorcycle around 10.30pm.Singh was rushed to the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) where he died during treatment late in the night.
SHO of Bypass police station Ajay Kumar said on Monday that Singh was intercepted by the criminals at a stone’s throw distance from his house on Mirchi-Marcha road. “Locals as well as family members of Singh rushed to the spot and took him to the hospital,” the SHO added.
Altogether 15 people, including Puttu Singh, Vijay Singh and Mangal Chand, have been named as accused in the FIR. The SHO said six of the accused have already been arrested and raids were on to nab others.
According to police, Singh also worked for a private insurance company. Sources said Singh’s nephew Upendra Singh alias Upendra Yadav was also killed by criminals in Patna City area on October 2, 2019.
Singh’s relatives said the former had sought police protection apprehending threat to his life. “No action was taken against the people who had threatened him with dire consequences. He was also pursuing the case related to the murder of his nephew in the court,” a close relative of Singh said on the condition of anonymity.
Police said the property dispute between the Singh and his neighbour Ram Ekbal Singh has so far claimed at least four lives. “Land prices at Mirchi village, hardly 3km south of NH-30, have shot up in the past few years. As a result, cases of land dispute have increased in the area,” the police added.
On Saturday night, a veterinary medicine shop owner, Shailendra Kumar Singh (48), was shot dead by a gang of armed criminals at Alamganj in Patna City.
The two murders within 24 hours in Patna City have created panic in the area. “Murders have become a routine affair in Patna City,” said Umesh Kumar, an RJD functionary from the area.