The prime suspect in the fatal shooting of the Sultanganj Nagar Parishad (SNP) executive officer and the grievous wounding of its chairman died in a police encounter on Wednesday when officers took him to recover the crime weapon, police said.
Officers took the accused, Ram Dhani Yadav, 52, to a spot 200 metres from his house to seize the firearm used in the attack. There, his aides opened fire in a bid to free him, police said. Yadav also fired at the officers, who returned fire and wounded him. He died during treatment at a hospital, police said.
The violence erupted on Tuesday as Sultanganj Nagar Parishad (SNP) chairman Raj Kumar Guddu held a meeting in his official chamber with executive officer Krishna Bhushan Prasad and others. Three masked men burst in and opened fire. When Prasad tried to grab one assailant’s weapon, another shot him at point-blank range. Prasad died on the spot, while Guddu fights for life at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital (JLNMCH) in Bhagalpur.
Bhagalpur SSP Pramod Kumar Yadav told media persons, “Later, the criminals involved in the incident reached the local police station and surrendered. After questioning, the police took Ram Dhani, husband of Neelam Devi, deputy chairman of the SNP, to a place to seize the weapon used in the crime, where his associates reached and tried to free him by firing at the police.” He added that Ram Dhani seized the moment to flee, firing at police. “In response, the police also fired at him. He died during treatment in the hospital,” the SSP said, adding that three officers, including a deputy superintendent of police and two inspectors, suffered injuries.
Police said investigation revealed that Ram Dhani had a criminal record and wanted a tender from SNP, but chairman Guddu objected, which led Yadav to plot to kill him.
