Patna: A two-year-old child was shot dead in Bihar after his father failed to pay extortion to the gangsters. This is the first time that the gangsters have killed a child in cold blood over the issue of extortion.
The horrible incident took place at Dhabauli-Laxmipur village in Begusarai district, some 140-km east of Patna, on Wednesday evening.
Reports quoting police and the witnesses said the victim Siddharth Kumar, son of Indradeo Singh, was playing outside his home when the criminals shot him. He was instantly rushed to a local doctor but succumbed to his injuries soon thereafter.
As per reports, the gangsters had sought an extortion of Rs50,000 from the victim’s father, a farmer, three days back but he failed to oblige them.
“Police have got the information and are investigating the case,” a local police official Balmukund Rai said.
Last week, kidnappers killed a grade nine student in Patna after his parents failed to pay a ransom of Rs2.5 million. The victim was on his way to school when the criminals kidnapped him, locked him in a room and then cruelly strangulated him to death before stuffing his body in a wooden box.
The incident triggered wide protests in the state capital, prompting the state government to order a special investigation into the case. The police claim to have arrested the main accused and sent him to jail.
Gangsters have also sought an extortion of Rs500,000 from a doctor couple based in Muzaffarpur district and threatened to kill them if they fail to oblige soon. The panicky couple has urged the police to act against the gangsters.
Police said the criminals demanded extortion from Dr Vinod Kumar through a letter. The miscreants also sent a live cartridge with the letter.
“The law and order has become a matter of serious concern in Bihar and the government should act now,” Bihar state Congress president Kaukab Quadri said. He said the situation had deteriorated after the chief minister Nitish Kumar swapped his allies and formed new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
