Patna:

A person wanted in more than 10 criminal cases, including bank dacoities, in Bihar and Haryana was killed in an encounter with police in Patna district, a senior officer said on Saturday.

Akash Yadav alias Ajay Rai was killed in Jakkanpur area in an exchange of fire between Special Task Force (STF) personnel of the state police and members of a criminal gang on Wednesday night, the officer said.

A sub-inspector of STF was also injured in the firing, he said.

“We got information that Rai and his associates were hiding at a particular location in Jakkanpur area, and accordingly an STF team reached there. As the members of the criminal gang spotted the police team, they tried to flee the spot and started firing targeting the STF personnel.

“The policemen retaliated. Rai and a sub-inspector sustained bullet injuries. Both were taken to the nearest government hospital where Rai succumbed to his injury,” Bihar Police Additional Director General (ADG-Operation) Amrit Raj told PTI.

The injured policeman is undergoing treatment at the hospital and he is stable now, the ADG said.

The police team recovered one pistol, several cartridges and a mobile phone from the spot.

Associates of Rai managed to flee the spot, the ADG said, adding that a search operation is underway to arrest them.

“Rai was wanted in more than 10 cases, including bank dacoities, in Bihar and Haryana,” the officer added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Supaul:

In a shocking incident, a woman was beaten, tortured and paraded half-naked while her ‘lover’ was stripped by a group of people over their alleged affair in Bihar’s Supaul district, police said on Thursday.

A purported video of the incident, which went viral on social media, shows the woman being beaten and paraded half-naked in Karzain police station area. The incident is believed to have occurred three to four days ago, police said.

Sources alleged that the man with whom she was allegedly involved was also stripped and paraded by the same group. Police have arrested one suspect in connection with the case.

The video, the authenticity of which news agency PTI has not independently verified, shows the woman being dragged by her hair while she pleads for mercy. The accused later left the woman in front of her house. The victim’s family has filed a police complaint.

According to a statement by the district police on Thursday, “A video of a woman being stripped and beaten is circulating on social media. After confirming that the case is from Karzain, police registered a case and launched an investigation. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed, and one accused has been arrested. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the other suspects.” In a similar incident on Wednesday at Jhajha in Jamui district, a woman and her husband were allegedly paraded semi-naked through their village to the beat of drums, police said.

Locals shaved the woman’s head, and her husband was forced to wear a garland of slippers and had his face blackened.

According to family members of the victims, the woman had allegedly eloped with her 35-year-old paramour and married him. The video of this incident also went viral on social media.

Talking to reporters, Jhajha sub-divisional police officer Rajesh Kumar said, “Police have registered a case and a manhunt has been launched to catch the accused”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor has punched a hole in Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav’s claim that Bihar has been lagging in key development indicators despite having a “double-engine” government.

Mr Yadav had yesterday alleged the BJP is only power-hungry and neglects the public’s concerns.

“Bihar is number one in unemployment, poverty, inflation and in corruption… Bihar is also number one in crime… Despite having a government at the centre and state, nothing has been corrected… BJP people are greedy for power only. They have nothing to do with the public,” said Mr Yadav, the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly.

He called Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a “tired chief minister”. The statement came after Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Singh alleged Mr Yadav kept silent when Hindus in Bangladesh were attacked, and called it “appeasement politics.”

A day later, Prashant Kishor, the former election strategist for many political parties and now who heads the aspiring party Jan Suraaj, said it is “laughable” when Mr Yadav speaks about development.

“I may give comments if Tejashwi Yadav spoke on caste, extortion, liquor mafia, crime… but if Tejashwi Yadav discusses development model, it is laughable. They have been in power for the last 15 years. He does not know what GDP and GDP growth are, and is talking about the development story of Bihar,” Mr Kishor told reporters.

“As far as crime is concerned, when Tejashwi Yadav was the Deputy Chief Minister six months ago, Bihar was Switzerland for him and after six months Bihar has become a gutter… If today Nitish Kumar joins Mahagathbandhan, Bihar will again start looking great to him…” Mr Kishor said.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: On RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor says, “Comments can be made if Tejashwi Yadav speaks on caste, extortion, liquor mafia, crime… but if Tejashwi Yadav discusses development model, it is laughable. They have been in power for… pic.twitter.com/EuABlaR91l

— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2024

He has said his new outfit Jan Suraaj will contest the Bihar assembly election 2025.

Mr Kishor had once worked with Nitish Kumar, but in January the former election strategist called the Bihar Chief Minister “paltumaar” and said flip-flops have become a part of his politics. Experts have speculated the Jan Suraaj may back some candidates in the next Bihar election.

Bihar has been demanding a special economic package from the centre. The Union Budget 2024 announced a Rs 58.9-crore growth package for Bihar.

With inputs from ANI

Motihari:

Four labourers died after inhaling toxic gases inside a septic tank in Bihar’s East Champaran district on Thursday, triggering violent protests by a mob which vandalised a private clinic, set fire to an ambulance and attacked a police party, leaving two personnel injured.

DSP Kantesh Kumar Mishra said of the five persons who had entered the tank, one survived and is undergoing treatment.

“The incident took place in a village under Dhaka police station area. After they fell unconscious inside the septic tank, the five labourers were rushed to a nearby private clinic. Four were declared as brought dead. By the time, a crowd had gathered. Family members of some of the killed workers blamed the deaths on laxity of doctors, leading to violent protests”, Mishra added.

The killed workers were aged between 18 and 60 years, police said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Three more persons were pulled out from the Saryu River in Bihar’s Saran district on November 2, taking the total number of rescued people to 13 in the boat tragedy a day before, an official said.

The toll remained unchanged at two as no new body was recovered, Saran District Magistrate Aman Samir said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed sorrow over the boat capsize incident.

He announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and directed the authorities concerned to speed up the rescue operation.

“The CM announced an ex gratia payment of ₹4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. He extended condolences to the families of the deceased,” said the statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

“So far, 13 people have been rescued, including those who managed to swim to the river bank. Rescue operation is still on to trace the four missing persons,” Mr. Samir told PTI.

The two deceased were women and identified as Phool Kumari and Chatthiya Devi. They were residents of Matiyar village.

The boat with 19 people on board capsized in the river on Wednesday evening near Matiyar Ghat in Manjhi block.

This was the second major incident of boat capsize in the State in the recent past. More than 15 children were feared drowned after a boat carrying them capsized in the Bagmati River in Muzaffarpur district in September.