The RJD has accused the Nitish Kumar government of “jungle raj”.

Hajipur:

Municipal councillor Pankaj Rai was sitting in a garment shop near his residence in Hajipur, Bihar on Tuesday evening when three men on a motorcycle stopped next to him and started firing at him indiscriminately.

Mr. Rai, a first-time elected councillor and member of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), ran into his house to save himself. However, the attackers got off their bike and followed him inside before firing several shots at him. The councillor of Ward No. 5 was hit three times. When his family and local residents heard gunshots, they rushed to his aid and took him to a hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of failing to maintain law and order in the state. “NDA goons led by Nitish Kumar shot dead district councillor Pankaj Rai in Hajipur at night. The chief minister and two deputy chief ministers are sleeping peacefully while their goons are creating chaos,” Mr Yadav said.

According to police, Mr Rai had filed a complaint over a dispute six months before his murder, but his family claimed that no action was taken.

Following the murder, senior police officials, including Superintendent of Police Har Kishore Rai, visited the crime scene and the hospital to gather details and pacify the grieving family. According to police, an investigation has been launched and CCTV footage in the area is being scanned to trace the suspects.

RJD MP Mukesh Roshan, who also visited the hospital, criticised the law and order situation in the state and termed the killing a failure of the government. “Pankaj Rai was an active RJD worker. His killing is proof that legislators are not safe in their own homes. It is ‘jungle-raj’ ”