Two witnesses in Vaishali murder case shot dead

PATNA: Two persons, stated to be eyewitnesses in a murder case, were shot dead by armed criminals in Vaishali district early on Thursday morning, barely nine hours before they were supposed to depose before the court to record their statements in connection with the case.

The incident took place around 1.30 am when two brothers—Chanchal Singh (28) and Raj Raushan Singh (17)—were sleeping on their outhouse at Madhurapur village under Bidupur police station in Vaishali district.

The duo were eye witnesses in the killing of their father Tribhuwan Singh on May 17 this year. As the news about the killing spread, locals assembled on the spot and blocked the Mahnar-Hajipur road. Vehicular traffic on the busy road remained disrupted for over three hours, which was lifted after the intervention of senior police officials.

Bidupur police station SHO Vinay Pratap Singh said the bodies were handed over to the family after autopsy at Hajipur sadar hospital. Five persons—Vivek Singh, Abhishek Singh, Harendra Kumar, Satan Kumar and Guddu Kumar—have been named as accused on the statement of deceased’s younger brother Kundan Singh.

The SHO said that two suspects have been detained for interrogation. “All the five accused are absconding. Raids are on to nab the culprits at the earliest,” the SHO said, adding that a dispute over a plot of land measuring seven dismal is stated to be the reason behind the murder.

Additional armed police forces have been deployed as a precautionary measure.

It may be mentioned here that the deceased’s father Tribuwan and his daughter in-law Anjali Devi were shot by armed miscreants two months ago. Later Tribhuwan succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Hajipur sadar hospital. Five persons, including Abhishek and Vivek Singh, were charged with hatching the conspiracy to kill Trubhuvan, an investigating officer said.

The incident assumed significance in the wake of recent directive of the Supreme Court asking the central government and the state governments to ensure safety of the witnesses in criminal cases under Witness Protection Programme. Subsequently, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) wrote letters to the chief secretaries of the state asking them to adhere to the directive of the apex court.

“There is provision for providing police protection to witnesses if they apprehended threats to their lives,” said an IG-rank officer posted at the police headquarters on the condition of anonymity.