Bihar: Shot dead of Mukhiya in Begusarai village

Virendra Kumar Sharma, mukhiya of Parna panchayat under Nima Chandpura police station in Begusarai district was shot dead by unidentified miscreants on Thursday morning.

Eyewitnesses said that Virendra was riding a bicycle when criminals ambushed him near Ajhaur village and shot him at close range. The villagers rushed him to the Sadar Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

According to the police, enraged over the killing, supporters and family members of the mukhiya laid his body on NH-31 near Traffic Chowk in Begusarai town and staged a protest, disrupting traffic on the busy stretch of the national highway for several hours. Several of his supporters claimed that the incident could be a fallout from political rivalry during the panchayat elections. He was elected mukhiya for the second time.

Virendra was also a BJP activist. Local BJP leaders and party workers also gathered at the Chowk and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. Meanwhile, Begusarai SDPO Amit Kumar and other senior officials reached the spot and pacified the protesting people to lift the blockade.

"The FSL team has already reached the spot and the footage of the CCTV camera installed in the locality is being scanned to identify the criminals," said SP Yogendra Kumar, adding, "Though the police have started an investigation into the murder, the victim's family has not filed any written complaint yet."

Villagers said that Sharma had no enmity with anyone. As a public representative, political rivalry may be the reason for his murder, they said. There was a lot of anger among the villagers after this incident.