Under secretary shot dead in Patna; 14 cops suspended, 12 suspects held

A senior government official was today shot dead by unidentified persons inside his official residence here, police said.

Fourteen police officials, including the inspector in-charge of the police station concerned, were suspended following the incident that took place barely a few 100 metres from the state Assembly building, even as 12 people were rounded up on the basis of suspicion.

The assailants reached the house of Rajeev Kumar (50), an under secretary in the State Department for Planning around 4 am. They had an altercation with the official and then shot him, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Sachivalay) Rajesh Singh Prabhakar told PTI.

Kumar's government quarter is located in the R-block area under the Sachivalaya police station here.

Inspector General of Police, Patna Zone, Naiyer Hasnain Khan told PTI-Bhasha "The inspector in-charge Rajesh Kumar Bhaskar and a sub-inspector Anant Kumar, besides 10 constables and two Home Guard jawans, who were in the police party that patrolled the area, have been suspended."
Prabhakar had, however, said, "We are investigating the matter from all angles. We suspect some old enmity may also be behind the killing which the family is trying to hide."