Patna: Security outside Darbhanga district jail has been stepped up after the daylight murder of Abhishek Jha, a member of the notorious inter-district gang led by Santosh Jha, at the Dhaka sub-divisional court premises in East Champaran district on Monday.

Abhishek, who was serving a sentence in an engineer double murder case in Darbhanga, was taken to the sub-divisional court for appearance in an extortion case. He was taken from Darbhanga district jail to the Motihari central jail on June 7. A country-made weapon and five cartridges were found from the crime scene.

Darbhanga senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manoj Kumar said on Tuesday that he personally took stock of the situation prevailing in the district jail. "We're keeping a close vigil around the district jail where hardened gangsters, including a few members of the Santosh Jha gang, are currently lodged," he said.

Maoist-turned gang leader Santosh Jha was shifted to Shaheed Khudi Ram Bose Memorial central Muzaffarpur jail recently. His associate Abhishek, a resident of Dumri village under Shyampur Bhtahan police station in Sheohar district, was among 10 people convicted in the engineer double murder case in March.

Two private engineers - Mukesh Kumar and Brajesh Kumar - working with a road construction company in Darbhanga, were gunned down at the construction site on December 26, 2015. Abhishek was arrested from Kanti police station area in Muzaffarpur in the case. His brother Bal Mukund Jha, however, alleged that the police plotted Abhishek's murder to settle scores. "Instead of rushing him to hospital, the police wasted precious time providing him medical care. He died within 10 minutes after being shot," he said.

Bal Mukund also said there was no trace of chilli powder on Abhishek's palm, though the police claimed he threw it into the eyes of police personnel escorting him to the court. He didn't rule out involvement of Abhishek's rival group in the killing.

Additional reporting by Nishit Kumar in Motihari