Criminals fire 4 rounds at Sitamarhi trader, trader escapes unhurt but customer injured

Arun Lata Sharma

Sitamarhi : Two bike borne unidentified criminals fired four bullets at Sitamarhi Chemist & Druggist Association President Manoj Kumar Singh at his shop on the main road on June 3, 2019, late evening. Manoj Kumar Singh escaped  unhurt but a bullet hit the belly of a customer Dr S C Sarkar. Panic gripped the Kiran Chowk area of Sitamarhi town after the indiscriminate firing.
Sitamarhi SP Anil Kumar visited the place of occurrence after the incident. The CCTV footage are being scrutinised to identify the criminals and an SIT has been constituted to nab them. Sitamarhi MP Sunil Kumar Pintu also visited the shop and assured the business community of early action.
On June 4, 2019, shops remained closed in the district in protest against the June 3 firing. Manoj Kumar Singh’s neighbours  said that the criminals had been demanding ‘Rangdari Tax’  ( extortion amount) from him for the last few years.

In two other incidents, criminals looted Rs 45,000 from at two petrol pumps on NH77 on Sitamarhi–Sonbarsa Road and fled away with the cash. An employee of one of the petrol pumps sustained bullet injury in the leg in the incident.