Patna: Tension has gripped Bidupur in Vaishali district following the killing of two persons on Friday.

Police said the incident occurred around 1.30pm when Jitendra Rai and Chintu Malik were sitting in their banana orchard at Majlishpur village under the jurisdiction of Bidupur police station, around 15km east of Hajipur, the district headquarters of Vaishali. The assailants pumped five bullets into Rai and Malik. Local residents rushed to the spot after hearing the sound of gunfire. The assailants managed to escape on their motorbike.

The residents rushed Rai and Malik to the local primary health centre from where they were referred to Hajipur sadar hospital where the doctors declared them brought dead. Police said Rai had a criminal record and personal enmity was stated to be the reason behind the incident.

Locals protested over the daylight killings as evidence of the police's failure to check crime in the district, and threatened to intensify their agitation if the culprits were not arrested soon.

Bidupur police station house officer Ritesh Mandal said that raids were underway to arrest the criminals. "We have got some clues in the case and hope to solve it at the earliest," he told The Telegraph.