Bihar minister’s son opens fire in air; injuries in clash, FIR filed

The incident took place on Sunday at Hardia village in West Champaran district when minister Narayan Prasad’s son, Bablu Sah and his aides drove to his ancestral orchard where some village children had been playing cricket, and Bablu reportedly asked them to vacate his land, police said. After children refused and both sides argued, the minister’s son allegedly opened fire in air after which stone pelting followed from either side, injuring at least half a dozen persons, police added.

A purported video of the incident that was widely shared online shows some villagers chasing Bablu Sah, who was then thrashed. His licensed weapons were also seized by the villagers. Vijay Kumar, a villager, said, “Just because Bablu is son of a minister does not mean he would beat us. Children had been playing on a vacant land, and people also use this orchard to go to their fields.”

West Champaran Superintendent of Police Upendra Nath Verma said: “We have lodged case against Bablu and six others on the complaint of villagers. We have also recovered two weapons from the villagers”. He said there had been no counter FIR in the matter.

Meanwhile, minister Narendra Prasad told reporters, “My son looks after family affairs. The land he visited has been with our family for over 50 years. We recently learnt that some villagers had been trying to usurp it by keeping haystack”. The minister denied that villagers were injured by Bablu and his aides. “It may be because of stone pelting from the other end”, said the minister.