Patna: A group of armed criminals shot dead a 25-year-old priest at Sakra village under the jurisdiction of Dehri town police station in Rohtas, triggering protest in the sub-divisional town on Friday.

Police said the assailants fired at Praveen Ravidas's head leaving him badly injured. On hearing the gunshots, a few residents rushed to the spot and admitted him to the Narayan Medical College and Hospital where he died.

An investigating officer quoting locals said Ravidas was shot at when he had gone to attend the call of nature outside the premises of the temple. The assailants, however, managed to escape after committing the crime.

As the news about the priest's death spread in the sub-divisional town, a number of residents assembled at a place and blocked National Highway-2. As a result, the traffic on the busy road remained paralysed for over two hours.

Dehri sub-divisional officer Pankaj Kumar Patel and sub-divisional police officer Mohammad Anwar Javed Ansari reached the site and pacified the protesters, who were demanding suspension of the station house officer of Dehri town police station Dharmendra Kumar.

The protesters expressed deep anguish over deteriorating law and order situation in the town. "Murder, extortion and theft have become order of the day in Dehri-on-Sone these days. Hardly a day passes without a crime incident," said a resident.

On Thursday, a teacher of a government school, was shot at and critically injured by a group of anti-socials on the school premises. The victim identified as Taj Mohammad Ansari was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Sasaram, the district headquarters of Rohtas.

Some close relatives of the priest Ravidas told The Telegraph that he (priest) had met the Rohtas superintendent of police Manavjeet Singh Dhillon about a month ago and submitted a petition seeking action against people who were trying to grab the land belonging to the temple.

"The police kept the matter under wraps and nothing happened, which prompted the assailants to eliminate him (Ravidas)," a relative said, adding that had the police taken action on the complaint petition, the priest would have been alive.

Dhillon was not available for comments. However, a police officer posted at Dehri town police station under whose jurisdiction the area falls, said a dispute over land belonging to the temple was stated to be the reason behind the murder.