Bihar: Lawyer shot dead in Saharsa, investigation continues

Police said a 48-year-old lawyer was shot dead by unidentified armed motorcyclists near Bhoura village on National Highway 105 in Bihar’s Saharsa district on Monday.

The lawyer, identified as Dularchand Sharma, was shot dead around 8.40 am, the second such incident in Saharsa in the last five months. The police failed to establish a motive, but prima facie they suspect old hostility.

Lawyers of the Saharsa Civil Court raised slogans against the police and boycotted the work, which led to disruption of the proceedings. Protesting lawyers demanded the immediate arrest of the criminals responsible for the murder.

According to police, the incident took place when Sharma was going to Simri Bakhtiarpur railway station to catch a train. As soon as he reached an isolated place near Bhoura village, the attackers intercepted him and started firing at close range. At least two bullets hit him in the head and another in the waist as he fell on the road.

The locals rushed him in critical condition to a local hospital, where doctors referred him to Saharsa District Hospital, but he died of his injuries on the way. Simri Bakhtiyarpur SDPO and other police officials rushed to the spot and recovered five empty cartridges from the murder spot. The forensic team has collected evidence and an autopsy of the deceased is ongoing.

“The lawyer died of injuries on the way to a hospital in Saharsa. The police have constituted an SIT to identify the attackers and nab them at the earliest,” Saharsa SP Himansu said, adding that at first glance it looked like old hostility and threats from some rival neighbors.

“Sharma was on his way to a civil court in Saharsa when unidentified assailants on a bike stopped him and fired at him,” said lawyer Uday Shankar Jha, adding that the association would go on an indefinite strike if the killers were not arrested within 24 hours.

Many bar associations in the state capital Patna condemned the murder.

“We demand the arrest of the culprits, completion of investigation within two weeks and completion of trial within 24 hours,” said Shashi Kant, Sunil Kumar and Kranti Kumar of Patna District and Sessions Court, adding that the incident reflects the poor law and order situation in Bihar .