PATNA: Tension is running high at a village in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district following the murder of a 20-year-old youth late on Saturday. The deceased, Navneet Kumar, a resident of Mohammadpur Khaje village under Karja police station limits, was attacked with a knife when he had gone to a local fair with his friend, Subhash Kumar.
As the body of the deceased reached his native village after post-mortem, local residents attacked a neaby Dalit hamlet as one of the suspects belonged to the village.
The attackers not only thrashed the inhabitants but also set several houses on fire. The suspects involved in Navneet’s killing were stated to be residents of Partapur village. Residents alleged that the attackers also opened fire in the air to terrorise them. Police, however, did not confirm the firing during the attack at Partapur village.
Ganesh Ram, a resident of Partapur village, said that the deceased Navneet had an altercation with the son of Gajendra Ram, who is involved in an illicit liquor trade. "More than 50 people attacked the Dalit hamlet in retaliation of the murder," he said.
He confirmed that at least six houses belonging to Scheduled Caste were set on fire by the attackers. Inhabitants somehow managed to escape to save their lives, he told the police.
According to Ganesh Ram, fire tenders rushed to the village to douse the flames. By the time, fire tenders reached the village, houses were badly damaged, he revealed. Senior SP, Kantesh Kumar Mishra, SP, rural, Rajesh Singh Prabhakar and City SP, Mohibullah Ansari later took stock of the situation. "Additional armed police force has been deployed at the village to ward off any untoward incident," SSP Mishra said.
The SSP described the situation at the village as tense but under control. "We are keeping a close vigil on the situation after the youth’s murder. The deceased and the suspects belonged to two different castes," he added.
He warned of stern action against those violating the law. "Local police station house officer has been asked to initiate action against the offenders," he told the media. A police team led by SDPO, Saraiya, Abhijit Kaur is camping at the village.
