Bihar: Two Khagaria brothers shot dead, third injured

PATNA: Two brothers were shot dead while the third one was critically injured by their step-cousin Pampam Singh and his associates allegedly over property dispute at Sakrohar village under Beldaur police station area in Khagaria district after Thursday midnight. Three persons, including Pampam’s parents and one of his friends were arrested.
Dhananjay Singh (63) and Vijay Singh (60) died on the spot.Women and children of the family managed to escape. Pappu Singh (55) was undergoing treatment at a hospital. SHO (in-charge) Pankaj Prakash said the killers in police uniform, after reaching in front of Dhananjay’s house, yelled that they had come to nab a notorious criminal, Ramkrishna Yadav.
Police said Dhananjay’s grandfather had married twice and Pampam is their only step-cousin. Dhananjay and his brothers had disputes over different plots of land with Pampam. “The disputes were settled one by one with the last one being settled hardly a few months back by the sarpanch,” Khagaria SP Amitesh Kumar said.
Amitesh said Pampam is associated with Mithilesh Yadav, a notorious criminal of Saharsa, while Dhananjay and his brothers were aligned with another criminal Ramkrishna, who is Mithilesh’s maternal uncle and arch-rival. Mithilesh was probably tipped off that Ramkrishna was hiding inside Dhananjay’s house, he said.
“The criminals conducted a house search after taking everyone out but failed to locate Ramkrishna. In the meantime, Pampam opened fire, killing Dhananjay and Vijay while Pappu received gunshot injuries,” he said, quoting eyewitnesses. Mithilesh and his gang commit crime in police uniform.
At least eight cases are lodged against Ramkrishna with Beldaur police station. He has been evading arrest for the past several months. “He is accused in over 10-12 criminal cases in Khagaria, Madhepura and Saharsa. Last month, a reward of Rs25,000 was declared on him,” the SP added.