Fifty-five-year old Rajdeo Rai, a farmer, was gunned down in Vaishali district because he protected a minor girl from a gang-rape bid.

The unidentified criminals, riding on three motorcycles, initially stabbed Rai with a knife and then fired bullets into his chest before escaping unchallenged at Biddupur, some 35 km from Hajipur, the district headquarters of Vaishali. 

Rai, in September last, had saved and sheltered a minor girl when she escaped from the clutches of miscreants who had already gang-raped two other girls on the embankment of the village. Later, Rai became a witness in the case. Since then, he was on the hit list of the culprits.

“In September last year, three minor girls from dalit families were caught by criminals, out of which two were gang-raped, while the third girl, who managed to flee, was saved by Rajdeo. Later, an FIR was lodged against six people, including notorious criminal Arvind Gope,” said Vaishali SP Suresh Choudhary.

The SP said following Rajdeo’s killing on Sunday, his son Rahul has lodged an FIR against nine people, including Arvind Gope, Karu and Surendra who were earlier accused of gang-rape.

 In the meantime, the victim girls and their family members are spending sleepless nights out of fear of reprisal from criminals.