Madhupur tense a day after twin murders

Dumka: Madhupur sub-division under Deoghar district continues to be tense a day after the murder of two employees of a petrol pump.
A gang of robbers looted Rs 10.50 lakh from the victims on Monday afternoon and shot them when they resisted. Locals gheraoed Madhupur police station for over two hours on Tuesday in protest against the deteriorating law and order situation and demanded the transfer of SDPO Ashok Kumar Singh.
Deoghar SP A Vijayalaxmi, who rushed to Madhupur on Monday, met with protesters on Tuesday and assured action to nab the culprits.
Vijayalaxmi also ordered the suspension of Madhupur police station officer in-charge, who failed to catch the culprits immediately. The deceased, Anup Kumar Dey (42) and Chandrashekhar Pandey, were on their way to the bank to deposit Rs 10.50 lakh from the petrol pump, when three motorbike-borne criminals attacked them near Chandmari along Deoghar-Sarath road at around 12 noon.
Police said the criminals initially attempted to snatch the money bag from the victims and then proceeded to shoot them at point blank range when they resisted. Pandey was shot in his mouth while Dey was shot in the chest. The criminals also set off crude bombs to create panic.
The incident, however, sparked an angry reaction against the police, with Godda BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, Madhupur MLA Raj Paliwar and cabinet ministers expressing concern over the incident.
Vijayalaxmi said two criminals were identified and raids are being conducted to nab them. "Some suspected persons are also being interrogated to ascertain the identity of the third criminal," he said, adding that the officer on duty at Madhupur police station was also suspended for "dereliction of duty".