Patna: A businessman from Bakhtiyarpur in Patna rural is frightened after armed miscreants opened fire outside his residence late on Friday night allegedly for his failure to pay extortion money.

Durga Prasad immediately reported the incident to the police and lodged a complaint against unidentified persons. A hand written pamphlet demanding Rs 10 lakh was earlier pasted on the fencing wall of his house.

The letter threatened him with dire consequences if the money was not paid by 3pm on Monday. The letter, a copy of which is in the possession of The Telegraph, said one of the four brothers of Prasad would be killed if the extortion money was not paid before the deadline. "The whole family is under threat. Though we have reported the matter to the local police station, the cops have not taken it seriously. We have sought the intervention of the senior police officials to provide security to me and my family members," a distraught trader said.

A police officer posted at the Bakhtiyarpur police said that the incident appeared to be handiwork of some miscreants. "I don't think anybody will paste a handwritten pamphlet to ask for extortion money from any businessman," the police officer said, adding that patrolling has been intensified in the locality as a precautionary measure.

The region has witnessed a spurt in the incidents of crime in recent. A local resident said that murders, extortion and loot have become order of the day these days in Bakhtiyarpur, around 40 km east of the state capital. "The anti-socials are ruling the roost in Bakhtiyarpur due to poor policing," he alleged.

Cuffs on criminal

Bulla Mahto, wanted in criminal cases, was arrested from Patna City's Malsalami police station area on Saturday. A warrant was issued against Bulla by Patna City civil court as he was absconding till date.