PATNA: A teenage college student was brutally killed in Patna on Sunday allegedly by the henchmen of a liquor businessman for opposing the clandestine sale of liquor in the area and tipping police off a number of times.
Chandan Kumar, a student of BSc second year in a college in the Bihar capital, was killed near his home in Maurya Vihar area under Phulwarisharif police station. The murder enraged the locals and they came on to the streets in hundreds to stage the blockade of the Patna-Danapur main road for nearly six hours. The agitators also pelted stones at police, prompting cops to fire in the air to disperse the crowd.
“He (Chandan) was attacked with an iron rod. His killers shoved the rod into his chest and left him bleeding and half dead. He was punished for informing police about the secret sale of liquor in the area,” said Vivek Kumar, Chandan’s brother. Chandan faced the attack when he was playing cricket with his friends near his house. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
ASP Rajesh Kumar said an FIR had been lodged against six unnamed people and a probe was on. Patna senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj placed the SHO of Phulwarisharif police station, Mustafa Kamal Kaiser, under suspension due to complaints by many local residents about his laxity in checking the illegal sale of liquor.
This murder is the third incident of attack on people related to resistance to illegal sale of liquor in Bihar in three days. Two young men, both siblings, were shot at allegedly by men linked to the liquor mafia in Ara two days ago. The two injured brothers are currently under treatment at a hospital in Ara.
Senior BJP leader and former Union health minister CP Thakur reached Phulwarisharif and urged the angry people to lift the road blockade. He also met the grieving family members of the slain student. “It is very unfortunate that a young man was killed for speaking up. We will ensure that his courage does not go in vain,” said Thakur, chastising the state government for failure to maintain law and order.
Although the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar imposed total prohibition in the state in April last year, reports of illegal sale and consumption of liquor have been common.