The residents of the holy town woke up with the shocking news on Monday morning when a police havildar pumped three bullets into the body of a small-time woman businessman near Police Line after a tiff over payment of money.

She died on the spot.

The incident took place around 6.30am when the victim, identified as Kiran Devi, (35), asked for her money from havildar Vansh Bahadur Paswan. Angered at this, the havildar took out his carbine from his room at the Police Line and pumped three bullets into her full public view.

After the incident, Vansh Bahadur, said to be a native of Munger, disappeared from the scene of crime after leaving behind his carbine. The early morning firing in the vicinity of the Police Line created panic among the residents, who had gone for a morning stroll.

The cop's carbine was later seized by the police and sent to the state forensic science laboratory for examination. The victim, the owner of a tea stall near the Police Line, was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared her "brought dead".

Gaya deputy superintendent of police Alok Kumar Singh said the havildar had been put under suspension. "Raids were conducted at possible hideous of the accused but he could not be arrested. A police team has also been sent to his native village in Munger," he told The Telegraph.

As the news about the death of the woman shopkeeper spread like wild fire, a number of local residents gathered near Gaya College turning and blocked the road. Traffic remained paralysed for over an hour due to the road blockade, which was removed after the intervention of senior police officers.

The deceased's husband, Prahlad, told the police that Vansh Bahadur had taken Rs 20,000 from his wife and promised to return soon. "My wife started pestering him after the marriage of one of the five daughters was settled a few weeks ago," he said, adding that the family was about to leave for their native place for the purpose.

Vansh Bahadur had assured Kiran to pay the amount at the time of her daughter's marriage. But he, of late, had turned a deaf ear and was ignoring the telephone calls. "This prompted my wife to put pressure on him with the event day coming closer," an investigating officer quoted Prahlad as saying.

The deceased's family was living in a rented accommodation near the Police Line and had been running the shop for long. "I am shocked to learn that the woman had been killed with a police carbine," said Rakesh Singh, a resident of Gaya. He demanded stern action against the accused cop.

Gaya additional superintendent of police Baliram Choudhary said a case under section 302 (murder) of the IPC had been instituted with Rampur police station.