The Rule of the Katta

Bihar's crime graph continues to climb. Whether under Lalu or Nitish, jungle raj, it seems, remains difficult to root out

- Asghar Khan

JUST days after high-profile public killings in Patna, bullets flew again on July 17, this time inside Paras Hospital in the state capital. A gang strolled into the hospital and gunned down a patient on parole undergoing treatment. The hospital's CCTV footage shows a chillingly casual execution and deepening public fear, dragging poll-bound Bihar's fragile sense of order back into question.

On July 12, in Patna's Shekhpura village, 52-year-old Surendra Kewat was tending to his field when two men on a motorcycle pulled up and shot him four times. Kewat, a veterinary doctor and former president of the BJP Kisan Morcha, was rushed to AIIMS Patna, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Police summoned a forensic team and began an investigation. As of now, no arrests have been made and the identity of the killers remains unknown.

Eight days before Kewat's killing, BJP-linked businessman and Magadh Hospital owner Gopal Khemka was shot dead outside his Gandhi Maidan home in Patna. His murder revived memories of his son's 2018 killing. Though arrests were made days later, the case remains under investigation, unsettling the city's business circles. On July 14, in Begusarai, four men on bikes opened fire near Lohia Nagar's railway gate, killing 25-year-old Amit Kumar. Two others were injured. Police arrested three, seizing a pistol, cartridges and Rs 2.7 lakh in cash.