Patna, April 3: The JDU today suspended Suryadeo Singh from the party's primary membership after a 14-year-old girl died when the former MLA opened fire in Bikramganj in Rohtas district, around 150km west of Patna, yesterday.

Tahela Khatoon, 14, died and six others including a 5-year-old suffered serious injuries after Suryadeo came out of his house with a licensed rifle and allegedly fired at least seven rounds at a crowd.

The incident triggered chaos and tension in the area, and the former legislator has been arrested.

"The police arrested Suryadeo Singh, his wife Kusan Devi, and four others late on Sunday evening," said deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police (Shahabad) Mohammed Rahman. JDU MLC and party spokesperson Sanjay Singh said Suryadeo had been removed from the party membership.

"The party will not tolerate persons with criminal background," Sanjay added.

Suryadeo, it is learnt, was involved in a dispute with the families of his brothers, Chandradeep Singh and the late Chandrama Singh, over a plot in Tenduli village of Bikramganj. The dispute over the possession of the plot is sub-judice.

On Sunday, sources said, Suryadeo came to know that the family members of Chandradeep and Chandrama were carrying out construction work on the plot. Suryadeo called up the Bikramganj police, who stopped the work at the site.

Chandradeep's family then lodged a counter-complaint against Suryadeo, on the basis of which police stopped some other construction work in the leader's house.

By evening, the tension between the families escalated, leading to Suryadeo opening fire. Among the seriously injured are Chandrama's five-year-old grandson, Shahil.

Police recovered three rifles and six empty cartridges from the spot, and the former MLA has been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The others arrested have been booked for being partners in crime.

Security has been tightened in the area and police are camping at the spot.

Suryadeo represented Bikramganj constituency - which does not exist anymore following delimitation - twice. He first won from the Assembly segment in 1990 on an Indian People's Front (IPF) ticket. In 1995, he represented the area as an RJD MLA. He later joined the JDU.