Bihar: Senior scribe shot dead, police hunt for assailants

Patna: A senior journalist with national Hindi daily was killed in Sasaram, Bihar, early Saturday morning by three unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants.

The incident occurred while the victim, Dhanmendra Singh, was having tea near his residence in the morning, according to sources.

Singh was rushed to a local government hospital from where he was referred to Varanasi for further treatment, but he succumbed to his injuries midway.

Bihar police have launched a probe into Singh’s murder and are conducting raids to nab the accused, sources from Sasaram said.

Singh’s news stories against illegal mining in Rohtas may have angered criminals, leading to his murder, sources said.

The murder is the latest in the string of crimes that have occurred recently. The incident has occurred at a time when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was winding up his first phase of Nischay Yatra.

The journalist’s murder has also invited sharp criticism from the opposition in Bihar. Senior BJP leader and former deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi who rushed to Sasaram to meet the bereaved family of the slain journalist said that the state government “must concentrate on improving law and order condition of the state”.

“Dhanmendra Singh is the fourth journalist to be killed in Bihar. No one including engineers, doctors and journalists are safe in Bihar and the state government has been claiming that law and order situation has improved,” he said.

Earlier on May 13 this year a Siwan based journalist Rajdeo Ranjan was killed by unidentified gunmen when he was returning to his house from office. A CBI probe into the matter is underway. Former RJD MP Mohammad Shahbuddin has been accused in the murder of the Rajdeo Ranjan.