Bihar property dealer, who survived attempt to kill him 2 weeks back, shot dead

PATNA: A 62-year-old property dealer in Bihar who survived an attempt on his life two weeks back was shot dead on a Patna-Gaya passenger train late on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.

Police said Jai Prakash Singh alias Bhola Sharma, a property dealer in Patna district’s Dahibhatta village, was returning home with his son, Gulshan Sharma, after being discharged from the Patna Medical College and Hospital where he was treated for gunshot injuries sustained in a previous attack on June 11.

The victim’s family has accused his elder brother, Chandra Bhushan Sharma, as the prime accused. It is alleged that Jai Prakash Singh was murdered by contract killers hired by his elder brother over a property dispute.

Police said Singh, a resident of Dahibhatta village under Masaurhi police station of rural Patna, survived an assassination attempt on June 11 when some persons shot at him.

Police said the incident took place at about 11:15pm on Tuesday when the Patna-Gaya passenger train (03263 Up) was between the Pothahi and Nadwan railway stations of the East Central railway. A police officer said the assailants were suspected to have been following him from Patna and opened fire after the train left Pothahi station.

The officer said investigators are going through CCTV footage at the Patna railway station, particularly platform number 9, where Sharma boarded the train.

Taregana government rail police SHO Mukesh Kumar Singh said when the train pulled into the Nadwan station, the passengers in the general compartment ran out.