Cops on toes as two traders among three killed in state

PATNA: At least three people were killed, a married woman was allegedly raped after being picked up from her house and two incidents of cash loot were recorded in the state in the last 24 hours.
A young cement trader of Sitamarhi, Guddu Kumar, was shot at in his shop near Mohanpur on Sitamarhi-Sonbarsa road around 2.40pm on Thursday. Police said two motorcycle-borne criminals attacked Guddu and he was rushed to a private hospital in Sitamarhi, where he succumbed to his injuries.
SHO of Sitamarhi town police station Vikas Kumar said the reason behind the murder was yet to be ascertained.Deputy superintendent of police Ramakant Upadhyay said raids were on to arrest the culprits.
Earlier, a 19-year-old garment shop owner, Rajiv Kumar, was killed after being robbed of Rs 1 lakh in Muzaffarpur district. Rajiv, who owned a garment shop at Gannipur Bejha village, was intercepted by armed criminals near Dubaha railway crossing under Sakra police station in Muzaffarpur district and relieved of his money.
The family members told the police that Rajiv was on way to his in-law’s house in Samastipur on his motorbike when the incident occurred. SHO of Sakra police station Ramnath Prasad said the victim’s motorbike was not found on the spot.
In Siwan, a Jeevika coordinator, Sanjay Kumar, was shot dead by criminals between Laheri and Shahartola villages under the Basantpur police station area on Wednesday night. The incident took place when Kumar was on way to Basantpur from Siwan after attending a meeting. The deceased was a resident of Rasauli village in Saran district.
In Gaya, a 30-year-old youth was shot at when he resisted loot attempt on Tekari-Panchanpur road on Thursday. The victim, whose identity could not be immediately known, has been admitted to a hospital at Gaya where his condition is stated to be critical.
In Gopalganj, a group of criminals opened fire and injured three people after an abortive attempt to loot cash from the office of an LPG dealer’s agency under Uchakagaon police station on Thursday. The injured people – Dhirendra Baitha, Anirudh Yadav and Aamir Hussain – are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Gorakhpur.
Earlier in the day, armed criminals looted Rs.5 lakh in cash after shooting at a collection staff of a cement trader on Ara-Chhapra road under Koelwar police station. The victim, Suraj Kumar alias Guddu Yadav, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Ara.
In West Champaran, a married woman was allegedly picked up from her house and later raped by one Ramji Patel under the Shikarpur police station area on Wednesday night. SHO Krishna Kant Gupta said the allegations against the accused, who is a panchayat samiti member, were being verified. The woman narrated her ordeal to her husband, who reported the incident to the police.
In Aurangabad, Rs 2.90 lakh in cash was looted from a farmer, Ajay Yadav, at a place under the Barun police station area on Thursday.
(With inputs from S K Singh in Sitamarhi)