A 24-year-old lady who suffered gunshot wounds after a man went on a shooting spree in Bihar's Lakhisarai district died on Tuesday at a hospital in Patna, according to authorities, news agency PTI reported. Durga Jha was recognised, they claimed. The incident occurred on Monday at Punjabi Mohalla in the Kabaiya police station area, while Durga's family was going home after Chhath Puja rites, and killed her two elder brothers, Chandan and Raj Nandan. According to authorities, along with Durga, her father Shashi Bhushan and his brothers' spouses Preeti and Lovely were all hurt in the shooting.
According to authorities, the gunman, Ashish Chaudhary, resided just across the street from the family's home.
Some Durga family members claimed they had received threats from Chaudhary, who was "adamant on marrying Durga, which we could not agree to because he belonged to a lower caste."
Speaking on Law & Order situation in Bihar, former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi said: "...The Law & Order situation in the state is in the worst condition under CM nitish Kumar's leadership... It's been 18 years, and now the time has come for him to resign from the post. The Samastipur incident or the Sitamarhi incident, are all proof that the administration, the CM are unable to control the crime here."
Earlier, Deputy Inspector General of Munger Range Sanjay Kumar had said: "We are investigating the matter from many angles. Some vital clues have emerged from a notebook of Chaudhary which the local police seized."
"From the scribblings in the notebook, it appears that Durga had secretly got married to Chaudhary a few years ago and the two lived together for some time. There are also a few photographs of them together," said the DIG.
Police claimed they were searching to nab Chaudhary.
"Two of his close associates, including the person who provided him with the weapon, have been arrested. The weapon of offence and other evidence have been seized by the police," a police officer was quoted by PTI in its report.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar Sinha, the BJP MLA from Lakhisarai and the state assembly's leader of opposition, blamed the event on the administration.
"The family was receiving threats from the attacker for days but the police failed to act. We fear that the administration may try to shield the real culprits, and divert the probe in a direction that would suit their political masters," he alleged.