ONE KILLED, TWO INJURED, ROAD BLOCKED

Ara, 5 November 2022, (RNI): One youth was killed while two cousin brothers were injured at Chhotaki Singhai under Ara town police station in Bhojpur district in the night on October 31, 2022 when two groups clashed for dancing with professional male dancer during an immersion procession of the idol of Sun god after completion of Chhath. Police brought the body to the Ara Sadar Hospital for postmortem and admitted the injured to a private nursing home at Ara. The deceased was identified as a shop keeper Dheman Singh 25 son of Dev Jee Singh of Chhotaki Singhai under Ara town police station while the injured were identified as Abhishek Singh 31 son of Nagendra Singh and his cousin brother Sagar Singh 30 son of Narendra Singh. An FIR has been lodged with the police under Ara town police station in the regard. Police recovered a rifle and are conducting raids to arrest the miscreants. Police also took three persons under custody for interrogation. Bhojpur SP rushed to the Ara Sadar Hospital and a private nursing home and took firsthand information of the incident.

The irate villagers and family members blocked the Ara-Saraiya main road near Chhotaki Singhai village under Ara town police station with the body of deceased since morning in protest against the murder. They burnt tyres on road, paralyzed movement of vehicles and raised slogans against the district administration. They were demanding arrest of miscreants, compensation of Rs. 10 lakh to the family of the deceased. The blockade could be lifted after positive response of police officers. They also blamed that the miscreants took Dheman Singh into a room just in front of police force and killed him but the police did not pay heed to it.

Bhojpur SP Sanjay Kumar Singh said that idol of Sun God was installed at Chhotaki Singhai under Ara town police station during Chhath festival. The Puja organizers took out procession for the immersion of the idol of the Sun God in the river Ganga at Mahuli Ghat of Badahara block in Bhojpur district in the late evening on October 31, 2022. Professional male dancers were performing in the procession when two groups clashed near Chhotaki Singhai Petrol pump in Bhojpur district over dancing with the professional male dancers that took an ugly turn and armed miscreants shot at and injured two cousin brothers and killed a person with sharp edged weapon. The SP said that some persons entered a house that triggered the incident. Police got a CCTV footage which is the centre of investigation.

Reportedly, Meera Devi, mother of an injured Abhishek Singh was contesting local body election from Ward No 1 but the election was deferred due to controversy on roster. People said that a compromising meeting was going on in between two groups in the village when the incident took place in which two persons were injured and a youth was killed.