Octogenarian shot dead in Bihar revenge killing

A man in his mid 80s was shot dead on Saturday in a case of revenge in Bihar's Bhojpur district, police said.

Raj Narayan Pandey, 85, was shot dead by the supporters of Gaura panchayat head Rajdeo Thakur in Pahadpur village under Shahpur police station in Bhojpur district, about 60 km from here.

Raj Narayan Pandey, the elder brother of former panchayat head Kedar Pandey, was shot dead for killing a youth in the village, a police official said.

According to police, Manoj Thakur, the son of the panchayat head, was shot dead near the village on Friday night when he was returning after visiting the Durga Puja pandals at a nearby market.

Angry over his killing, the supporters of Rajdeo Thakur attacked the house of Kedar Pandey on Saturday morning to take revenge for the killing and shot dead his elder brother.

The incident took place when the people were busy celebrating the Durga Puja festival.

Security forces have been deployed in the village in view of the tension following the two killings.

A police official said the families of the current panchayat head and his predecessor are old rivals and have attacked each other in the past also.

--IANS

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