A day after a class 10 student was gunned down and another injured in Bihar’s Rohtas district, hundreds of villagers on Friday blocked the Delhi-Kolkata National Highway (NH) at Dehri, demanding swift justice. The murder of 14-year-old Amit Kumar, who was returning home after his board exams, has led to outrage among locals, who are demanding the arrest of the accused.
The villagers protested by burning tyres and disrupting traffic on the National Highway. In response, authorities deployed a large police force to negotiate with the protesters, assuring them of quick action. The murder in Rohtas district has taken a shocking turn, with allegations that it was a premeditated attack.
According to Amit Kumar’s brother, Neeraj Kumar, the incident stemmed from a dispute during their board examination. Neeraj claimed that a fellow student, Sumit Kumar, had threatened them in the exam hall for not helping him cheat. “Sumit was not writing the questions on his answer sheets. He was asking us to write the answers for him which we denied.
He had threatened us with dire consequences inside the examination hall. When we came out, he called his friends with firearms and traditional arms like swords and batons,” Neeraj said. “When we took an auto and headed towards our home, Sumit along with his five to six friends on three bikes chased and opened fire on the auto.
One of my brothers Manju Kumar sustained a gunshot injury in his leg and fell on the road. They forced the auto driver to stop the vehicle. As soon as the auto stopped, the students, on board it, tried to escape from the scene. They indiscriminately fired on them and one bullet hit Amit on his back,” Neeraj said. Amit and Manju were rushed to the Sadar Hospital. Later, Amit succumbed to his injuries, while Manju remains hospitalised.
The police have launched an investigation, examining multiple angles, including the alleged threat and planned attack. A case of murder and attempt to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act was registered at Mufassil police station. The SHO of the Mufassil police station said the accused will be arrested soon.