Unidentified assailants on Friday shot dead a prime witness in the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Visheshwar Ojha in Bihar’s Bhojpur district, reported PTI. Another man who raised an alarm also sustained bullet injuries, said the police.
“Today, when Kamal Kishore Mishra was returning home with fodder for his cattle around 7 am, some unidentified men shot him,” said Superintendent of Police Awakash Kumar. “When Amarkant Mishra, another villager, raised an alarm seeing the miscreants flee the area, he was shot at, too.” Amarkant Mishra said three men had attacked them.
Ojha was shot dead in Bhojpur in February 2016. He was the vice president of the BJP’s Bihar unit and the legislator from Shahpur. Two others were also reportedly injured in the shooting.
Kamal Kishore Mishra had completed his testimony in the case earlier this year. “His security cover was withdrawn at his request following the testimony,” said Kumar.
Several senior police officers have visited the crime spot. “We are conducting raids to nab the culprits,” said Additional Superintendent of Police (Operations) Nitin Kumar. “Five empty cartridges have been recovered from the site of the incident.”
Ojha’s brother said the incident would cause other witnesses to panic. “The killing of prime witness Kamal Kishore Mishra once again shows police laxity,” Bhuvar Ojha told The Indian Express. “Mishra had been given police security but it was withdrawn as soon as he bore witness in my brother’s murder case.” Trials in the case are on and so far only two out of 10 witnesses have recorded their statement in the court.
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