Bihar youngster shot dead after overtaking car of JD(U) leader’s son

The son of a ruling Janata Dal (United) lawmaker allegedly shot dead a 20-year-old student in a case of road rage in Bihar’s Gaya town on Saturday night, triggering a wave of protests against the Nitish Kumar government.

Police said member of the legislative council (MLC) Manorama Devi’s son, Rocky, sprayed bullets on a car --- in which Aditya Kumar Sachdeva was travelling with four friends --- after an altercation over overtaking. A bullet pierced through the rear windshield and fatally hit Aditya’s head. He was in the back seat.

Devi’s husband, Bindeshwari Prasad Yadav aka Bindi, and guard Rajesh Kumar were arrested on Sunday.

A carbine and 70 rounds of ammunition were found in Devi’s home, Magadh Range DIG Saurabh Kumar said. The couple’s son is on the run.

Bindi, a construction businessman, was taken into custody for allegedly helping Rocky escape. The father was jailed in the past for keeping 6,000 rounds of ammunition for a banned weapon in 2011.

He pleaded innocence, saying his son was assaulted by the youngsters, who were drunk. “After all, everybody has the right to self-defence,” he said.

But he acknowledged that his son has a licenced weapon and it might have gone off during the scuffle.

Police said Rocky decided the quarrel by arms after Aditya, a prominent Gaya trader’s son, and his friends allegedly ignored signals to let his Range Rover overtake their Maruti Swift on a narrow road. Aditya and his friends were returning home from a birthday party in Bodh Gaya.

“An infuriated Rocky squeezed past the Swift and stopped a little ahead. He was holding a revolver and hurling abuses. Fearing for their lives, Aditya’s friend who was behind the wheels sped past Rocky’s car but came under a volley of fire from behind,” an officer said, quoting eyewitnesses.

The friends took Aditya to Gaya’s Anugrah Narayan Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Legislator Devi denied her son’s role in the murder. But the recovery of the Delhi-registered Range Rover from her home put her in a spot.

Family sources said Rocky had brought the car from Delhi, where he is preparing for the civil services after graduation. He stays mostly in Delhi and arrived in Gaya a few days ago for a short holiday.

“Being the son of Bindi Yadav and Manorama Devi, he is pampered. Carrying a pistol and moving in a Range Rover is enough to change a youth’s mindset,” said a neighbour, who didn’t wish to be named.

Read | Bihar road rage: Parties condemn Gaya youth’s killing, demand probe

The incident took political overtones as angry Gaya residents put up road blockades on Sunday.

The opposition BJP said Bihar’s crime rate has shot up significantly under the Kumar-led coalition government.

“The hotheaded son of a politician got angry … and shot dead a youngster. Bindi Yadav is a known criminal,” said Sushil Kumar Modi, the party’s state unit president.

Opposition leaders made a beeline for Aditya’s home while their supporters shouted slogans against chief minister Kumar.

Gaya MLA and the leader of the Opposition, Prem Kumar, said the murder proves the “return of jungle raj” in the state. “Bihar is burning, an atmosphere of fear pervades the state,” he said.

Jungle raj is an expression used to describe the pre-2005 Bihar when the state was besieged by rising corruption, kidnappings and crime.

Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, promised strict action against the culprits “irrespective of stature”.

Lalu condemned the incident and said: “This was a heinous act, police should act strongly to catch the assailants.”

The JD(U)’s Rajya Sabha member, KC Tyagi, assured that the guilty will be punished. “In the past too, leaders of JD(U), RJD and other parties have been arrested (under Kumar’s rule). The law is equal for everybody and it will take its course.”

Forensic experts collected samples from the crime spot and Rocky’s home while police launched a hunt to catch him. Senior superintendent of police Garima Mallik said: “Nobody will be spared.”

(with agency inputs)