A 25-year-old nursing student was shot dead outside his college in Bihar’s Darbhanga district Tuesday evening, allegedly by his father-in-law who was “opposed” to the victim’s inter-caste marriage with his daughter.
Police said they received information around 4:40 pm about a shooting in the Benta police station area. The victim, Rahul Kumar, was declared dead and his body sent for postmortem.
“The deceased, Rahul Kumar, was a BSc Nursing student. The accused, Premshankar Jha (45), is the father of a woman also pursuing BSc Nursing at DMCH,” a senior police officer said. Preliminary investigation revealed that Rahul had married Jha’s daughter, Tannu Priya, in April this year.
Officials said Jha was allegedly assaulted by bystanders after the shooting and was later taken to hospital for treatment. Following the incident, students blocked the entry to DMCH’s emergency department in protest, prompting police to use mild force to disperse them.
Recalling the sequence of events, Rahul’s wife Tannu Priya alleged: “Rahul was on a call with me while I was leaving college after marking attendance. Since there was no water in the hostel, I went towards the powergrid. On returning, I saw my husband standing near his bike, possibly waiting to go for lunch in the room. Meanwhile, my father approached, pointed a gun at Rahul, and asked whose bullet bike it was. Rahul said it was his. My father then shot him in the chest right in front of me and tried to flee. Rahul ran towards me, fell into my arms, and we rushed him to the hospital.”
Tannu alleged that other members of her family may also have been involved in the incident. “My two brothers, mother, grandmother, sister, and brother-in-law could also be involved. My father runs a clinic in Saharsa where illegal activities, including abortions, take place. He had earlier beaten me severely with a belt. Rahul rescued me and we got married. He was killed in revenge,” she claimed.
Rahul’s father, Ramesh Mandal, a resident of Supaul district, said police informed the family around 5:30 pm that Rahul had been shot. “When I reached the DMCH postmortem house around 9 pm, I found my son’s body,” he said, adding that he “learnt” that Premshankar Jha came to the campus along with his sons Ashwini Vats and Avneesh Vats.
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Mandal told police that the families had received threats from Jha in the past. “He had also filed a case in Bangaon. Statements were recorded in court,” he said.
In the weeks leading up to the shooting, Jha had filed a police complaint alleging that Rahul and his family had abducted his daughter. According to the complaint, filed on May 1 at Bangaon police station in Saharsa district, Jha said his wife had informed him on April 27 that their daughter was missing. After checking CCTV footage from that evening, he claimed he saw her riding away on a bullet motorcycle with a helmeted man, whom he identified as Rahul Kumar, her classmate at DMCH.
Jha claimed he had then approached the college authorities, who asked both students to appear with their parents within three days. He also claimed to have visited Rahul’s home in Tularpatti, Supaul, where he alleged that Rahul’s family verbally abused him and refused to let him meet his daughter. He further alleged that they told him Tannu was with Rahul’s sister and brother-in-law Ashok Mandal, a teacher in Begusarai, and would not speak to him.
The complaint accused Rahul’s family of threatening to falsely implicate Jha in a criminal case if he pursued the matter. “I have reason to believe my daughter has been kidnapped by Rahul Kumar and his family with wrongful intent, and that harm may come,” Jha wrote in the complaint.
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An FIR had been registered based on his statement under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with abduction, kidnapping, and common intention. The named accused were Rahul Kumar, his father Ganesh Mandal, mother, sister, and brother-in-law Ashok Mandal.
Meanwhile, an FIR in the shooting case was filed at 1:30 pm on Wednesday based on Mandal’s complaint, invoking sections 103, 61, and 3(5) of the BNS, and sections 25(1-b)a, 26, and 27 of the Arms Act. Four accused were named: Premshankar Jha, Jha’s wife Gunjan Kumari, Ashwini Vats, and Avneesh Vats.
Police said investigations are ongoing.
