Unidentified gunmen fired at the vehicle of a ruling BJP MLA in Bihar while he was returning after a tour of his constituency on Saturday evening. The MLA, Prem Ranjan Patel, escaped unhurt. Nobody was arrested till Sunday evening.
The car of Patel, MLA from Suryagarha in Lakhiserai district and spokesman of the BJP’s Bihar state unit, was surrounded by about eight gun-toting miscreants with the apparent motive of robbery at about 8 pm on Saturday, said police. The incident occurred some 30 km off Lakhiserai town between Medini Chowki and Tiri Bazar. “This is a highly condemnable incident. We have urged the Lakhiserai SP to immediately arrest the miscreants,” said Sudhir Kumar Sharma, another Bihar BJP spokesman. Lakhiserai has a reputation for daring crimes in the daytime. Mr Patel said he felt “very fortunate” to have escaped unhurt. “The miscreants started indiscriminate firing when our vehicle did not stop despite their best efforts,” he said. Lakhiserai SP Ashok Kumar Singh said the miscreants have been identified.
***
Army won’t hand over its officers
Jammu : The Indian Army has refused to hand over five soldiers, including a colonel and a major, charged with the killing of three villagers in Kupwara in April to the J&K police.
The Army says that an internal enquiry was on against its men for the alleged killing of the three in Machil village in April, informed sources said on Sunday. The police had filed the chargesheet in a court against Colonel D.K. Pathania and four other soldiers. They were charged with killing the three and then claiming they died in a shootout. “The five men are facing an internal enquiry. They cannot be handed over to police unless charges against them are proved,” an Army source said. “The army has instituted its own enquiry. Until the results of that are known, there is no question of handing over the men to police,” the source said.
—IANS