Policemen at the residence of Jeetendra Singh in Patna on Monday. Picture by Ranjit Kumar Dey

Patna, Sept. 19: Tension gripped Gandhi Nagar area under Patrakar Nagar police station today after one Kanchan Yadav, known to be a history-sheeter in the police files, was allegedly beaten up by one Jeetendra Singh, a lawyer who also owns a girl’s hostel in the area.

According to the police, Jeetendra lodged an FIR, alleging that Yadav was demanding extortion money of Rs 2 lakh for a week and the criminal today fired bullets at his residence to terrorise him and his family members.

The incident occurred around 10am, the police said.

Yadav has been admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).

The police have, however, detained Jeetendra too and are waiting to record Yadav’s statement after which things would become clear.

“At present, things are a bit complicated. Yadav apparently was asking for a room on rent from Jeetendra, which he declined. According to the initial statement of Yadav, Jeetendra and his family had beaten him up for some unknown reason. A proper statement of the person is still to be taken as he is under treatment at PMCH,” an officer at Patrakar Nagar police station said.

On the contrary, Jeetendra, in his complaint, said the man, who has served prison on two previous occasions along with his group, was demanding extortion money of Rs 2 lakh.

“The group used to threaten Jeetendra time and again for the money apart from abusing and teasing the girls living in the hotel. Today, Yadav came to his house and started misbehaving with the women and also opened fire at his house to terrorise Jeetendra. This sparked off a major clash between the two groups,” the officer said.

The incident, which triggered tension in the area, also saw the arrival of deputy inspector-general of police (central) Vineet Vinayak along with city superintendent of police (central) Shivdeep Lande.

“Bullet shells have been recovered from the spot and there are bullet marks on the walls of Jeetendra’s residence. One country-made pistol has been recovered from Yadav, while Jeetendra owns a licensed rifle. At present, the police are investigating the matter. Yadav’s statement is important and at present he is undergoing treatment at PMCH,” Lande said.

The locals said they had heard gunshots. “The law and order in the capital is deteriorating. Almost everyday there is some criminal incident or other in Patna. If bullets are being fired in daylight, there is something wrong in the mode of policing,” a local resident said.