Police suspect a new trend has emerged in Patna in which criminals kill cops to steal their service weapons.

Suresh Thakur (50), a sub-inspector at Marachi police station, around 80km from Patna, was shot dead on Monday morning while returning from Barh court. He was a resident of Panhas village in Begusarai district.

"Suresh could have been murdered because criminals wanted to lay hands on his weapon," a senior police officer told The Telegraph requesting anonymity.

The body of Ashok Kumar Yadav, an assistant sub-inspector posted at Vaishali police station, was found on January 9 in a field located under the jurisdiction of Sadar Hajipur police station.

On Tuesday, Vaishali superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar told The Telegraph: "The case is yet to be cracked and there has been no breakthrough yet. There is a strong possibility that criminals wanted to steal the deceased's service revolver."

The men in uniform called the possible trend alarming.

"If there is a gang that is killing cops to steal their service weapons, it is definitely a reason to worry," another police officer in Patna told The Telegraph.

"We cannot see our men dying like this for nothing. On-duty officers must be allowed to use their weapons against criminals a bit more leniently," said Bihar Police Association president Mritunjay Kumar, adding: "There is a chance that he (Suresh) might have been killed due to a personal enmity. The enmity can be both professional and personal. He might have arrested criminals and a gang decided to kill him for revenge."

DIG (central range) Shalin said the police had got some leads and were working on them. "I visited the murder spot today (Tuesday) and urged help from nearby police station house officers to crack the crime. Patna police will not rest until the real perpetrators are caught," Shalin told The Telegraph.

A police team led by Patna senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaaj raided the Barh Jail on Tuesday in connection with Suresh's murder. The cops said they had gone to the jail to question some of the inmates who could have a connection with the murder of the cop.

Patna police also released the sketch of one of the suspects accused in the murder after quizzing some of the eye-witnesses.