Two killed, 3 hurt over land dispute in Purnia

PATNA: Two people were killed and three others seriously injured in a violent clash between two rival groups over a land dispute at Bela Prasadi village under the Rupauli police station area in Purnia district around 9.30am on Sunday.
The trouble started when one Md Irshad Alam was barricading his land to build a house. Enraged over Irshad’s act, one Md Kaushar reached the spot and opened fire.The bullet, however, missed the target. When Irshad’s brother Jehangir Alam came forward, he was shot by Kaushar from a close range.
Jehangir was rushed to the referral hospital at Rupauli where he was declared brought dead. Police said four people from rival group led by Kaushar also suffered injuries when they were attacked with lethal weapons. The four – Sabina Khatoon, Jainab Khatoon, Anguri and Md Muslim – were rushed to the sadar hospital in Purnia where Md Muslim died during treatment.
Irshad’s wife Rehana Khatoon told the police that the dispute over one-bigha land was continuing for the past one decade. The matter was still pending in the court.
However, both the groups were called at a meeting convened by the local panchayat to settle the issue. However, Kaushar refused to abide by the decision of the panchayat, which led to fresh tension.
Purnia SP Dayashankar said a country-made pistol was recovered from the spot. “Armed police personnel have deployed at the village to avoid any untoward incident,” he added.