Businessman shot in Purnia; dispute over social media post under probe

Patna: Unidentified criminals gunned down a businessman near Neva Lal Chowk in Maranga police station area of Purnia district on Tuesday. The victim, identified as Suraj Bihari alias Suraj Yadav, owned the city’s largest corn (maize) warehouse and was known for his active presence on social media, where he frequently posted reels, including a recent one featuring his newly purchased luxury car on Jan 12.According to police and family members, Suraj always travelled with a private armed guard. On Tuesday, he was accompanied by his guard, Prem Kumar, and a cousin when the attack occurred as soon as he stepped out of his car. As the assailants fired five rounds, three bullets hit his back and the arm, leading to his death on the spot. When the guard and his cousin rushed to help him, the attackers fired two more shots at them. However, both managed to escape.Upon receiving the information, superintendent of police (SP) Sweety Sehrawat, along with other senior officials and Maranga police team, rushed to the spot and started an investigation. The FSL team was called to the crime spot, and the CCTV footage is being examined by the police team.The SP said that a man died due to a gunshot injury. “He was taken to a hospital for treatment, where doctors declared him dead. His postmortem was conducted at the GMCH. The accused have been identified, and three special teams formed to arrest them,” she said.“During the investigation so far, it has come to light that the incident occurred due to a dispute over sharing a girl’s photo on social media. An investigation is being conducted on this point as well, and we are also probing other possible reasons for the dispute,” the SP said.The family accused two brothers—Brajesh Singh and Nandu Singh—residents of Neva Lal Chowk of killing Suraj. The brothers allegedly ran a smack (heroin) smuggling gang and were absconding since the incident.The dispute reportedly started during Saraswati Puja, when an altercation took place between the accused and Suraj’s younger brother, Uday Yadav, along with his friends, over the creation of a reel. Although the matter was resolved at the time, tensions reignited on Tuesday morning when the brothers and their associates allegedly surrounded and assaulted Uday and his friend.Purnia MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who arrived at the hospital shortly after the incident, alleged that the accused brothers enjoyed police protection.