A desperate wish for leave to attend a cousin's wedding and supervision of an under-construction house allegedly led constable Mukesh Rajak to shoot two of his colleagues dead on Monday.
Rajak, a constable on duty at the Bikram block office, around 45km from Patna, had gone on an unauthorised leave for five days before Holi. Back on March 5, he wished to go to his home in Jamui district again. So desperate he was that he purportedly didn't think twice before shooting two of his colleagues when they resisted his move.
An FIR was lodged against Rajak at the Bikram police station on Monday and he was sent to jail on Tuesday.
Though 25-year-old Rajak has not yet confessed to his crime, police on Tuesday said his involvement couldn't be ruled out in face of evidence before them.
The police suspect Rajak shot havildar Ram Vishnu Yadav and constable Sadanand Kumar (both deputed at the Bikram block office) dead because he was desperate to go on a sanctioned leave to his home in Jamui district,around 250km southeast of Patna. But for that, he required havildar Ram to forward his leave application to the bosses, ignoring others.
Ram was in charge of the attendance register in which all the six cops deployed at the Bikram block office had to sign each day.
Patna superintendent of police (west) Rajeev Mishra said: 'Rajak had proceeded on an unauthorised leave for five days just before Holi. He didn't take permission from anyone and returned a day before the festival (on March 5). After March 6, he again wished to proceed on a leave before the rest of his colleagues.'
Police sources said before going on the unauthorised leave before Holi, he had a fight with Ram, who had been given the responsibility to forward leave applications of his colleagues to senior officers for approval. Senior superintendent of police Jitender Rana said in addition to his cousin's wedding, Rajak wanted to oversee construction of his house in Jamui district.
A police officer said: 'Ram had protested against Rajak going on leave without permission and the two had a showdown. Once he returned on March 5, Rajak told Ram that he wanted an immediate leave two or three days after Holi. He wanted the application to be approved legally to which Ram refused. The two had another fight early on Monday morning and an enraged Rajak must have picked his rifle and shot Ram. Though the forensic and ballistic reports are yet to come, it seems constable Sadanand threatened Rajak to expose him for which he was killed too. Prima facie, it appears that only one rifle of .303 bore was used for both murders.
'Ram was hit in the back, indicating he tried to escape once Rajak picked up his weapon. Sadanand might have heard the gunshot and rushed into the room and he, too, was shot in the chest. Both were shot from a close range, resulting in their instant deaths. The block office was guarded by six men. The night before Holi, the Bikram police station house officer inspected the block office and three of the six men were found absent from duty. They were suspended immediately. So, on Monday, only Rajak, Ram and Sadanand were present at the block office.'
The police claimed residents near the block office heard the gunshots on Monday and informed the Bikram police station. A team reached the spot within 20 minutes and saw havildar Ram and constable Sadanand lying on the ground with bullet injuries.