The spate of murders in the Bihar capital over the last month has jolted the administration and the common people. The police records show that Patna reported a murder every second day in July.

A total of 16 cases of murder and 11 cases of attempt to murder were registered in July. And on Sunday (August 1), the city reported two murders. The first incident was registered near the Parsa Bazar railway station where unidentified assailants shot auto driver Jitendra Kumar Singh (55) from a very close range. Trainee Deputy Superintendent of Police Priya Jyoti said that the attackers probably killed him over an ancestral property dispute.

“The deceased’s son lodged a complaint against his three stepbrothers for the murder of his father. The investigation is underway,” Jyoti said.

Another incident occurred in the Ambedkar hostel in Patna City locality when a retired professor’s son named Vishnu Kumar Simma was gunned down.

Sanowar Khan, the SHO of Bahadurpur police station said: “There is a possibility that two groups of that hostel may have been involved in a quarrel and Vishnu came in the firing range. He was shot in the head and died on the spot.

“We have registered an FIR under the relevant IPC section against unidentified persons. The complaint was given by his brother.”

In July, the first murder was reported on July 4 when a youth was killed in the Janipur locality. A noted criminal Mithilesh Gop was killed in Alamganj locality on July 6, an auto driver was killed in the Patna City Chowk area on the same day (July 6).

A vegetable and fruit vendor was killed on July 9 in the Shastri Nagar area. A newly wedded woman was killed in Pipra locality on July 14 and a railway engineer was killed in Mokama on July 15.

An elderly person was killed during dacoity in the Musepur village on July 17. A youth was lynched in Masaudhi town over some trivial issue on the same day (July 17). And the third incident was reported on the Patna bypass road when a 12-year-old boy was found murdered.

A youth was lynched in the Pandarak area on July 19, another youth was lynched in the Masaudhi area on July 20. The violent mob alleged that the youth was allegedly involved in stealing a chair.

A trader named Pankaj Kumar was killed in the Patna city chowk area on July 21. A fish trader was killed in the Malsalami locality on July 25, an e-rickshaw driver was gunned down in Alamganj locality. A woman killed her husband with the help of her boyfriend in Patna on July 26. A youth was stabbed to death in Naubatpur on July 31 and an elderly person was killed in the Phulwari Sharif locality.

On the rising crime graph of Patna, the officials said that organized crime is preventable but a crime committed by individuals cannot be stopped, especially in densely populated localities.

“We are trying to crack every case in minimum possible time and give a strong message to the criminal-minded persons. Once we can achieve a fast conviction rate, it will automatically reduce the crime graph of the district,” an official of the Patna Police said, requesting anonymity.

When contacted, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Upendra Sharma was unable to respond on this matter.