Rural health officer shot dead in Patna; latest in series of shootings

Patna: A 50-year-old rural health officer was allegedly shot dead in the Pipra locality of Patna on Saturday, officials said.

The deceased has been identified as Surendra Kumar (50), they said.

The incident took place at Sheikhpura village late this evening when Kumar was working in his field.

According to villagers, they heard sounds of gunshots from Kumar’s field. When they went there, the officer was found lying unconscious with bullet injury, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO-2) Masaurhi, Kanhaiya Singh, told reporters.

Kumar was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries during treatment, Singh told reporters.

Kumar worked as a rural health officer.

The body has been sent for the post-mortem, he said, adding that further probe is underway.

The incident comes close on the heels of a spate of murders that have rocked the state capital in the last one week.

Earlier, a 50-year-old man, involved in the sand mining business, was shot dead outside his residence in the Ranitalab area in Patna on Thursday barely a few days after the murder of top industrialist Gopal Khemka outside his residence situated on a busy street in the state capital on July 4.