BJP, Nitish Kumar made Bihar 'crime capital of India': Rahul on Khemka killing

New Delhi: With prominent businessman Gopal Khemka being shot dead outside his residence in Patna, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the incident has once again proven that the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have together made Bihar the "crime capital of India".

Gandhi also asserted that in the upcoming assembly polls, the vote will not be just to change the government, but to save the state.

Khemka was shot dead outside his residence in Patna by a bike-borne assailant, seven years after miscreants had gunned down his son in Hajipur, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place around 11.40 pm on Friday near the gate of Khemka's house in Gandhi Maidan locality as he was about to alight from his car, they said.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said the shooting of businessman Gopal Khemka in Patna has once again proven that the BJP and Nitish Kumar have together made Bihar the "crime capital of India".

"Today, Bihar is living under the shadow of loot, gunshots and murder. Crime has become the new normal here - and the government has completely failed," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

"Brothers and sisters of Bihar, this injustice cannot be tolerated any more. The government that cannot protect your children cannot take responsibility for your future either," he said.

Every murder, every loot, every bullet is a cry for change, Gandhi said.

"Now is the time for a new Bihar - where there is progress, not fear. This time, the vote is not just to change the government, but to save Bihar," he said.

An SIT, comprising officials of the Special Task Force and sleuths of the central district police, has been constituted to supervise the ongoing investigation into the businessman's murder, the DGP has said.

The incident comes just months ahead of the assembly polls, which are likely to take place around October-November.