A shocking murder case has surfaced in Bihar’s Saran district, where Pankaj Kumar Rai, a crucial witness in a 2024 double murder case involving a lawyer and his son, was fatally shot in the Chanchaura Panchayat area under the Mufassil police station limits.
Pankaj Kumar Rai and his brother, Manish Kumar Rai, were returning from a wedding ceremony in a nearby village late Sunday night when unidentified assailants on three motorcycles intercepted them near Methwalia Chowk and opened fire.
Pankaj succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head at the scene, while his brother Manish sustained a bullet injury near his ear. Local residents rushed both men to the hospital, where Pankaj was pronounced dead, and Manish was referred to PMCH in Patna due to the severity of his condition.
Angry villagers and family members staged a road blockade with Pankaj’s body on the Chhapra-Patna main road on Monday morning, demanding immediate arrests and questioning the police’s role in safeguarding witnesses in sensitive criminal cases.
The family believes the murder is linked to the 2024 killings of lawyer Ram Ayodhya Rai and his son, advocate Sunil Kumar Rai, who were shot dead while heading to court for a land dispute hearing. Pankaj Kumar Rai and his father Ramdev Rai were crucial witnesses in that case, with Pankaj scheduled to testify in court, leading the family to suspect foul play to influence or eliminate a key witness.
Senior police officials, including ASP (Sadar) Rampukar Singh, arrived at the hospital following the incident and initiated raids at various locations associated with the suspect. Two individuals have been detained for questioning, with ongoing raids to apprehend other suspects. The police, however, have not officially confirmed the motive behind the murder, stating that all possible angles, including personal disputes and the previous double murder case, are under investigation.
