RJD leader on morning walk shot dead in Bihar’s Samastipur district

Unidentified criminals gunned down a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader in Rosera sub-division of Samastipur district in Bihar early Friday morning.

Former district RJD chief Hare Ram Yadav, 55, was on a morning walk when motorcycle-borne assailants fired at him, police said. Five bullets hit Yadav and he collapsed on the spot.

“We came to know about the incident through a newspaper vendor who informed us that Yadav was lying unconscious on the road near the Sihi More. He was rushed to sadar hospital at Samastipur where the doctors declared him dead on arrival,” said Alpana Yadav, a relative of the deceased.

The news of Yadav’s murder sparked protests in Rosera subdivision and adjoining areas. A mob blocked the Hasanpur-Vidhan road and disrupted vehicular traffic. They were demanding immediate arrest of the killers.

The police said it was a planned murder as assailants were aware of Yadav’s morning walk routine. “We had not received any complaint from him about threat to his life,” they added.

The exact number of assailants was not immediately known, the police said. Those who were present at Sihi More at the time of the crime could not see them due to dense fog, they added.

“Prima facie, it appears to be a case of personal enmity,” said the Samastipur superintendent of police (SP) Deepak Ranjan. He ruled out robbery or property dispute as possible motives for the murder. “Vijay Yadav, a distant relative of the deceased, has been detained for interrogation,” the SP said, adding that victim’s daughter-in-law Mamta Devi was mukhia of Ahilwar panchayat in the district.

PATNA: FORMER DISTRICT RJD CHIEF HARE RAM YADAV, WAS ON A MORNING WALK WHEN THE BIKEBORNE ASSAILANTS FIRED AT HIM