PATNA: A 40-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) worker was killed in Bihar's Vaishali district within 24 hours of the announcement of results of the legislative council polls in the state.
The incident took place at around 8 am when the victim Rajiv Ranjan was returning home to Paharpur Paschim village from the Chhath ghat on the bank of the Ganga river.
Eyewitnesses told the police that Ranjan was shot at and injured from close range. He was rushed to the primary health centre at Raghopur Fatehpur from where he was referred to Sadar Hospital at Hajipur.
He, however, succumbed to injuries on the way to the Patna Medical College and Hospital.
The deceased's kin blamed a ward member Bindu Rai and his brother for the murder of Rajiv Ranjan, who was associated with RJD. Raghopur happens to be the assembly constituency of the leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. The RJD had fielded Subodh Rai, the sitting MLC, from hajipur in the legislative council election.
Hajipur Sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Raghav Dayal said prima facie a dispute over transactions of money during the recently concluded election was the reason behind the murder.
The killing of the RJD functionary has sparked tension in the area. Senior police officials were camping in the village to ward off any untoward incident. “A posse of armed police force has been deployed at the village as a precautionary measure,” the SDPO said.
The Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party candidate Bhushan Kumar won the election from Vaishali seat defeating sitting MLC Subodh Kumar Rai. RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had campaigned for Rai.