Patna, Oct. 12: A Dalit who tried to offer prasad to a Durga idol was shot dead last night in Nalanda, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s home district.

Karu Paswan, 41, was stopped by upper-caste men when he and fellow-Dalits in Jiyar village tried to make the offering.

This led to a clash between the two groups, during which the alleged assailant, Ratan Singh, fired from his gun.

Karu died on way to Patna Medical College Hospital, 110km away, Nalanda police chief Vijit Vinayak said. Two others were injured. Another police officer said Ratan was absconding.

Vinayak said a police camp had been set up in the village, simmering with caste tension after attempts to shut Dalits out of immersion rituals, to avert a flare-up.

A scuffle had broken out on Friday when upper-caste members tried to bar Dalits from joining the immersion processions but no one was hurt.