An accused shooter in the murder of retired customs assistant commissioner Ram Kumar Singh was injured in police firing during an early Friday attempt to recover the weapon used in the crime in Ara, Bihar, police said. The incident took place at Sarangpur village Mor under Mufassil police station after the accused allegedly opened fire at the police team.
The accused, identified as 22-year-old Pawan Yadav of Ara Chandwa Housing Colony, sustained a bullet injury below his right knee and was admitted to Ara Sadar Hospital. Police said he was out of danger. Bhojpur superintendent of police Awadhesh Dixit said Yadav opened fire without provocation while being taken for the weapon recovery, prompting the police team to fire in self-defence. A bullet also struck the bonnet of the police vehicle, according to the police account.
Ara Sadar SDPO-1 Sushil Kumar, who heads the special investigation team, said three shooters were involved in Singh’s murder. One of them, Pintu Kumar, had already been arrested, while Yadav’s arrest followed a tip-off that he was attempting to flee to Patna.
According to police, Yadav disclosed during questioning how the murder was planned and carried out and identified the weapons allegedly used in the crime. The investigation has so far resulted in the arrest of six accused, including the alleged main accused, Chandan Singh, and two of the three shooters identified by the police.
Singh was shot dead near his home in Kanakpuri locality under Ara Nawada police station on October 15. Police said the alleged motive was a dispute over 14 katthas of land owned by Singh. His son’s first information report alleged that land grabbers had conspired to kill him to take possession of the property.
Twelve people have been named in the FIR, while the investigation has indicated the suspected involvement of around 20 alleged land grabbers, police said. The scale of the investigation reflects the wider property dispute identified by the authorities as the suspected backdrop to the killing, although the allegations remain subject to the ongoing investigation and legal process.
The police have not disclosed further details of the weapon recovery or the next investigative steps in the supplied report. The case remains under investigation by the special investigation team, with the arrested accused facing proceedings in connection with the murder and alleged conspiracy.
