Cop on morning walk shot dead in Bihar

PATNA: A policeman was shot dead by at least four unidentified bike-borne men in Bihar’s Gaya district in the second such attack on police officers in the state in the last 10 days.

Mohammad Qyamuddidin, the station house officer of the Kothi police station, was killed between 5am and 6am when he was on a morning walk on the Gaya-Kothi Road, around 107 km south of state capital Patna.

Sources said the assailants came on a motorbike and accosted the SHO. The men entered into an argument after which Qyamuddidin was sprayed with bullets. After shooting Qyamuddidin, the men escaped into the forests.

Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Garima Malik, who rushed to the spot, confirmed the incident.

“Three to four armed criminals chased the SHO while he was on his morning walk and shot him dead. The police have launched a manhunt and all the border areas have been sealed. We have launched a massive vehicle-checking in the bordering areas of the district,” the SSP said.

Police sources said the SHO had launched an anti-criminal operation in the Maoist-affected area before the upcoming Dussehra and Muharram festivals.

Sources added that the SHO had received threats to his life in the past. He had arrested more than a dozen criminals during his stint at Kothi police station, which he joined some four months back. The action had ruffled many feathers. This is the fourth such attack on policemen in the recent months.