Two bike-borne miscreants opened fire in a daring robbery outside the official residences of Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav in the high security zone of Patna early Thursday morning.
According to the police, the attackers attempted to rob a youth, named Rahul, at gunpoint. The victim handed over his belongings. A shot was also fired, but Rahul escaped unhurt.
Patna City (Central) SP Diksha confirmed the incident and said that the Police have recovered a bullet shell from the spot and are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the suspects. Raids are going on to arrest them.
The incident, which took place a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit, has once again brought attention to the fragile state of law and order in Bihar.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack on the government over the firing incident in the VVIP area of Patna. He called it a ‘power protected crime’ and pointed towards a situation like Jungle Raj.
In a message posted on X, he said: “Today, a firing incident has taken place outside my residence. In the demonic rule of the NDA, the morale of state-protected criminals has risen so high that dreaded criminals are roaming freely in high-security zones – just a short distance from the Raj Bhavan, Chief Minister’s residence, Leader of Opposition’s residence, judges’ residences, and the airport – where they are firing in public.”
He added: “Beware! If someone dares to call this ‘jungle raj’? Anyway, the Prime Minister is coming to Bihar tomorrow, so the ‘Godi Media’ will obviously focus on maintaining a positive image.”
Tejashwi’s sister Rohini Acharya also reacted sharply to the incident. In a message posted on ‘X’, she questioned the intention of the Bihar government, accused it of negligence in Tejashwi’s security, and said that the entire government, along with the Chief Minister of Bihar, has gone into a coma.
Rohini also pointed out that a few days ago, Tejashwi narrowly escaped a major mishap after a truck allegedly hit his convoy when the RJD leader was returning from Madhepura to his residence in the state capital.