Encounter breaks out between Patna hospital shooters and police, 2 injured

Indian Express

6 days ago

An encounter broke out early Tuesday in Bhojpur district between police and three men suspected to be involved in the murder of Chandan Mishra at Patna's Paras hospital. Two of the three were injured and are undergoing treatment, while the third has been arrested, police said.
The encounter took place at around 5 am along Katia Road under Bihia police station limits when a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and local police identified three armed individuals and ordered them to surrender, the Bihar Police said.
'The suspects responded by opening fire, prompting retaliatory action by police. In the exchange, two of the accused, Balwant Kumar Singh and Raviranjan Kumar Singh, sustained bullet injuries. Both are currently under police custody and receiving medical treatment. A third accused, Abhishek Kumar, was arrested at the site,' a senior police officer said.
Police said they also recovered two pistols, one country-made firearm, two magazines, and four live cartridges from the scene.
'During preliminary interrogation, the arrested individuals admitted to their involvement in the July 17 murder of Chandan Mishra at Paras Hospital in Patna,' police said.
Earlier, in a coordinated operation supported by the Kolkata Police, four other accused, including the main shooter Tauseef Badshah, were arrested on Sunday from a guest house some 280 metres from Anandapur Police Station in Kolkata. They were brought to Patna on Monday after the Alipore court in Kolkata granted two-day transit remand to Bihar Police.
Following medical examinations, all four were presented before a court in Patna on Monday. 'While three of the accused were sent to judicial custody, Patna police secured remand for Tauseef for three days to conduct further interrogation in the case,' an officer in Patna said.
Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma said the remand period for Tauseef begins Tuesday, as part of efforts to further investigate the case and establish the motive and network behind the killing.
'During investigation, it was revealed that Tauseef and other suspects had gathered at the home of his cousin, Nishu Khan, where they allegedly planned the execution. After the incident, Nishu Khan (who is physically disabled) fled with Tauseef and his caretakers in his vehicle.'
The officer said that both Tausheef and Nishu have previous criminal records with Tausheef having faced cases under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, and attempted murder and Nishu charged in cases related to extortion and the Arms Act. Tauseef had previously spent time in jail under the Arms Act and was released on bail in 2024. Nishu had been shot over a personal dispute around 2023 and had sustained an injury to his spine.
Chandan Mishra, a paroled criminal from Buxar, was shot dead on July 17 at Patna's Paras Hospital by 5 gunned men, after he got admitted for a laparoscopic surgery on July 15. His parole was going to end on July 18, a police source had told.
Mishra's father had in his police complaint identified 'Tausheef Badshah alias Nasim, along with Balwant Singh and Monu Singh' from Buxar through video footage aired in the news as three of the five shooters.
Chandan had over 24 criminal cases against him, and preliminary investigations suggested that the attack was orchestrated by his a former friend-turned-foe Sheru Singh, sources said. Police said a clearer picture of connection, execution and motive between the attack will come after the interrogation of the suspects.
Police investigation so far, has revealed that nine people were directly involved in the shooting. 'Additionally, others provided weapons and helped with reconnaissance,' an officer had said.