It turned out to be a bloody Diwali in Bihar with as many as eight people, including three members of a family and kin of an opposition RJD leader, getting killed in separate incidents on Sunday night. This happened amid claims by the police of the ruling Nitish Kumar government that they were on maximum alert to ensure a peaceful “festival of light”.

The most horrible incident was reported from the Begusarai district where three members of a family were killed in cold blood in a long-standing dispute over a piece of land. Police said Kunal Singh, his wife Kanchan Devi, and their daughter Sonam Kumari were busy in Diwali celebrations when a youth entered their home and shot them one by one. The incident took place at Machaha village under Singhaul police station.

After committing the crime, the accused also tried to shoot both sons of Kunal Singh who were bursting crackers outside their house but luckily the miscreant had run short of bullets by then as a result of which they survived. Reports said that for quite some time none could notice the gruesome murders as they mistook the gunshots as the sounds of the crackers.

Police say the murderer was closely related to Kunal Singh and had warned him against appearing as a witness in the court in a murder case. According to police, the miscreant had killed Kunal’s uncle and aunt in which he was a key witness. As per the report, the accused had threatened Kunal with dire consequences if he dared to turn up as a witness in the court but he ignored his threats.

Another incident was reported from Jehanabad district where close kin of an RJD leader was shot dead by unidentified miscreants on Sunday night. Police said the victim was waiting for the priest to start the worship of Goddess Laxmi at his shop when he was shot dead outside his business establishment.

Another dreadful incident took place in Bhagalpur district where a 12-year-old boy was sacrificed allegedly to propitiate the Goddess. Reports said Shivnandan Das, a resident of Vinoba Tola under Pirpaity police station, had been advised by a black magician to sacrifice someone from his family to please the deity in order to be blessed by a son. Das had no child. Acting on the tantrik’s advice, the man lured his nephew on the pretext of buying crackers, took him to an isolated place and then slit open his throat. The accused has been absconding since then. Three other people were killed in Begusarai and Siwan districts in separate incidents.