Patna/Ara: Two criminals allegedly involved in the murder of gangster Chandan Mishra were wounded during an exchange of gunfire with a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and Bhojpur police at Bihiya in Bhojpur district on Tuesday. Another suspect in the case was also arrested, police said.The encounter took place around 5am on the Bihiya-Katya road. Caught in the crossfire, two suspects—Balwant Kumar Singh (22) of Liladharpur in Buxar and Raviranjan Kumar Singh (20) of Chakdahi village in Bhojpur—sustained bullet injuries. Another accused, Abhishek Kumar of Parsiya village in Buxar, was arrested from the spot.“Acting on a tip-off received by the Bihar STF and Bhojpur police, the three criminals were surrounded by the cops on Bihiya-Katya road around 5am on Tuesday. They were asked to surrender, but they opened fire on the police. In retaliatory firing by the police in self-defence, two criminals sustained gunshot injuries,” stated a press release issued by Bhojpur police.Two STF personnel—Uttam Kumar and Rohit Kumar Singh—were also injured and admitted to Sadar Hospital, Ara.STF officials said they had received information that three criminals involved in Chandan Mishra’s murder were present in the Bihiya police station area. “The team surrounded them near Katya road around 5am. When asked to surrender, they started firing at the police. In retaliatory fire, Balwant was shot in the hand and leg, while Raviranjan suffered a thigh injury. The third accused, Abhishek, was arrested,” the officials said.Both injured suspects—Balwant and Raviranjan—were initially taken to Ara Sadar Hospital under tight security. Later, they were referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).“During interrogation, the criminals revealed that they, along with others, were involved in the murder of gangster Chandan Mishra at Paras Hospital in Patna on July 17,” the release added.Police recovered three country-made guns, two magazines, and four live cartridges from the accused.Earlier, Patna police had arrested four others, including the main shooter Tauseef alias Badshah, who led the group of assailants at the hospital. His cousin Nishu Khan and two associates—Bhim and Harsh—were arrested along with Tauseef from a guest house in the Anandapur police station area of Kolkata on July 19, with the help of Kolkata Police and Bengal STF.They were produced before the ACJM IX court on Monday after being brought to Patna on transit remand. The court granted police a three-day custody of Tauseef, a resident of Phulwarisharif, starting Tuesday. The other accused have been sent to judicial custody.
