Unidentified assailants opened fire on the lawyer, Jitendra Kumar Mahto, while he was returning after having tea, Patna East SP Parichay Kumar said on Sunday. Adding to the string of murders in Bihar’s Patna, a 58-year-old lawyer identified as Jitendra Kumar Mahto was reportedly shot dead on Thursday in the Sultanpur police station area, making it the third reported shooting incident in the city within the last 24 hours.
Unidentified assailants opened fire on Mahto while he was returning after having tea, an ANI news agency report quoted Patna East SP Parichay Kumar as saying.
Police reportedly recovered three bullet shells from the scene and are investigating the motive and identities of the assailants. FSL teams have been deployed, and CCTV footage is being examined, the report said.
“Criminals shot a person named Jitendra Mahato. He was taken to the PMCH hospital for treatment, where he died. The family said that he used to come here every day to drink tea. Today, he came here to drink tea and was shot while returning… Three bullet shells have been recovered from the spot. The identities of the criminals and their motives behind this incident are being investigated. FSL teams, local police, and the SDO were called after I learned about the incident. All the CCTV cameras in the vicinity are being examined… The case is being investigated from every angle,” the news agency quoted the police officer.
“On the basis of preliminary information, we got to know that the accused was a lawyer, but was not practicing for the last two years,” he said.
Multiple murders in 24 hours in Patna
This is the third known murder in Patna and fourth in Bihar within the last 24 hours, with a rural health officer, a businessman and a grocery shop owners being the other three cases.
Another latest victim in the string of murders has been identified as Surendra Kumar or Kewat across reports. He was shot dead by bike-borne assailants near his farm in Sheikhpura village on Saturday along the Bihta–Sarmera State Highway.
Surendra Kumar, reportedly associated with BJP, was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries during treatment, Singh said.
Earlier the same day, Vikram Jha, a grocery shop owner originally from Darbhanga, was fatally shot outside his shop in Patna’s Ram Krishna Nagar area.
In another incident from Bihar’s Sitamarhi, on Saturday, a businessman identified as Putu Khan was shot in the head at point-blank range by unidentified assailants at Mehsaul Chowk.
These killings come close on the heels of the murder of Gopal Khemka, a businessman and BJP functionary who was shot dead outside his residence in Gandhi Maidan on the night of July 4, considered one of the most secured localities in the city.
