ONE INJURED IN POLICE ENCOUNTER

ONE INJURED IN POLICE ENCOUNTER

7-NOV-ENG 8

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-----------------------The police have carried out a targeted encounter—resulting in a non-fatal injury—of Pawan Yadav, the primary shooter who had been absconding in the murder case of Ramkumar Singh. Singh, a former Customs officer and president of the *Kshatriya Kalyan Sangh*, resided in the Kanakpuri neighborhood under the jurisdiction of the Nawada police station. During an encounter with the police on Friday morning in Sarangpur village—located within the Mufassil police station area near the city—Yadav was struck by a bullet in his right leg, below the knee. Following the incident, the injured shooter was taken into police custody and admitted to Sadar Hospital for medical treatment. He is the son of Nirmal Yadav, a resident of Chandwa Housing, also under the Nawada police station area.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Awadhesh Dixit stated that the encounter took place on Friday morning in Sarangpur village, along the Ara-Salempur road. Pawan Yadav had claimed that weapons used in the murder were hidden in the village; however, when the police arrived at the location based on his information, he opened fire on them. The police returned fire, during which Yadav was struck in his right leg.

The SP noted that Pawan Yadav was one of the three primary shooters who arrived on a motorcycle to carry out the murder of Ramkumar Singh. Mr. Dixit added that two of the three shooters have already been arrested, and the remaining shooter, along with other suspects, will be apprehended soon.

It is worth recalling that on the morning of October 15, Ramkumar Singh—a resident of Kanakpuri and president of the *Kshatriya Kalyan Sangh*—was out for a morning walk with his son when he was ambushed by armed assailants. He was shot at close range—struck by eight bullets—and died on the spot. In this case, an FIR was registered based on the statement of Amit Kumar, alias Goldy, the son of the former official.

Fourteen individuals were named in the FIR, including Chandan Singh, his wife Chandni Singh, Manoj Singh (alias Lucky), Jai Prakash Yadav (alias Guddu), the then-Station House Officer (SHO) of the Mufassil police station—Inspector Ram Kalyan Yadav—as well as Bhim Singh, his adopted son Santosh Kumar Singh, Rakesh Singh, Saif Alam, Sudhir Kumar Singh, Amrendra Bahadur Singh, Deepak Kumar Singh, Harshit Singh, and revenue department employee Vishnu Deo Singh.

Among them, four individuals—including Inspector Ram Kalyan Yadav and revenue employee Vishnu Deo Singh—have been accused of conspiring to commit the murder. Shortly after the incident, one of the named accused, Manoj Singh (alias Lucky), was arrested. A few days later, two other named suspects—Chandan Singh, a resident of Barki Singahi village (under the jurisdiction of the Town police station), and Abhishek Yadav, a resident of Bind Toli (also under the Town police station)—were arrested at Kolkata’s Dum Dum Airport.

Acting on information provided by them, the police also arrested Tipu Kumar, a resident of Chandwa Housing (under the jurisdiction of the Nawada police station). Subsequently, the police paraded all three individuals—a procedure known as a 'goonda parade'—while escorting them from the Nawada police station to the court in Ara. Based on information provided by Chandan Singh, a country-made pistol, two cartridges, a magazine, and a four-wheeled vehicle were seized from his residence.

Approximately two weeks after the incident, the police—with the assistance of the Patna STF—arrested Pintu Yadav, the primary shooter hired for the murder, near the Koilwar Bridge. Pintu Yadav is a native of Jhauwa village (under the Bihiya police station area) and was residing in the Krishna Nagar locality (under the Town police station area) at the time. Following his disclosure, a country-made firearm (*katta*) and two cartridges were recovered from his home.

He, too, was subjected to a 'goonda parade' by the police while being escorted from the Nawada police station to the Ara court. Following a court order, the police have taken the five accused arrested in connection with this murder case into 48-hour police custody, starting Thursday, to uncover the truth behind the incident and bring the facts to light.