Angry over the murder of an RJD leader in Nalanda, an irate mob, most of them RJD supporters as per police, on Wednesday attacked houses of two suspects in Kakobigha-Makrasarai village and lynched two minors.

This is the third major crime in Nalanda, the home district of chief minister Nitish Kumar, in the last 24 hours.

On Tuesday, criminals had shot at and critically injured four people in two different incidents. The victims included an assistant sub-inspector and a woman.

A tense situation prevailed in the entire district on Wednesday following the latest incident of lynching.

According to police, the deceased, Indal Paswan, 40, had recently joined RJD and was given the post of the party’s district SC/ST Cell. Paswan was shot dead by unidentified assailants Tuesday late evening while he was returning home after attending rituals related to death of a relative.

On Wednesday morning, when locals and his family members spotted his body and his motorcycle in a roadside ditch, they went on a rampage, targeting homes of suspects.

The mob killed two persons, identified as Ranjan Yadav (15) and Santu Malakar (16), on the suspicion of their family members being involved in the killing.

The protesters also set ablaze the houses of Naresh Chowdhary and Chunni Lal, who they also suspected to be involved in the murder. The duo were luckily not present in the house then.

Locals, allegedly supported by RJD workers, also staged protests in Bihar Sharif, the district headquarters of Nalanda.

Paswan’s family said that he had a tiff with Naresh Chowdhary and Chunni Lal a few days ago over drinking and attributed the feud as the reason behind the killing.

Rajesh Kumar, DIG (Central Range), who was on the spot after the incident, said one of the injured died on the spot, while another succumbed to injuries while being taken to hospital. He said an FIR had been registered and investigations in the case had begun.

The police have launched a hunt to apprehend the killers.

Nalanda SP Sudhir Kumar Podika is camping in the area along with a huge police contingent to control the situation. He said the RJD leader had only one bullet in his chest. “We found no empty cartridge from the spot,” he said.

The police said the RJD leader had a construction material shop in his village. “Prima facie, we have found he had a heated argument with his nephew Gopal Paswan (22) over business related issues on Tuesday evening,” the police said.

“Gopal had not paid money to the slain leader after purchasing some construction material from his shop. Family members of the leader had alleged that Gopal, in connivance with Ranjan and Santu, might have killed him,” police said.

First Published: Jan 03, 2019 08:09 IST