The murder of a mukhiya (vill age head) on the outskirts of Patna on Wednesday set another poser for Patna police who are on the backfoot failing to crack a number of killings.

Baby Devi, the 40-year-old mukhiya of Gorkhari panchayat in the Bikram area around 25km off Patna, was shot dead at her home around 10.30am. Devi used to live with her husband and two children in a rented house at Dariyapur under the jurisdiction of Parsa Bazaar police station.

An officer at Parsa Bazaar police station said Devi, suspecting a threat to her life had lodged a complaint against one Babloo Singh at Bikram police station. Babloo Singh was a resident of the Gorkhari panchayat. Police are trying to find his whereabouts.

The two assailants who shot Devi, while she was pressing clothes in the drawing room of her house, fled on a motorbike. The mukhiya died on the spot.

Devi’s murder occurred five days after the killing of Neelam Sharma, the principal of the nursery section of Ankur Public School, at her home at Rajiv Nagar.

A police officer told The Telegraph that a stranger had come to Devi’s home around 10.20am to inquire if Sudhir Kumar (the landlord) owned the house. “When Devi confirmed it, the man thanked her and left. She was pressing clothes and did not lock the door. Her husband Abhay Kishore and two children were in a room inside the house. Ten minutes later, two men threw open the door and entered the house. Devi shouted at them for entering without knocking. They both apologised and shot at her. As Devi collapsed, the assailants fled.

“It was raining heavily but a police team reached Devi’s home within 10 minutes. She was declared brought dead when her family took her to a nearby government hospital.”

The officer also said: “We are investigating the case. It seems both the assailants were professional killers. They had information that the woman used to live in the house, the owner of which was Sudhir Kumar. One of them must have made a general inquiry just to be sure about the exact house and their target. Once they were sure, they acted.”

He added: “The police have started an investigation into the case. Babloo Singh will be taken into custody and interrogated. The family members of the deceased, especially the husband of the woman will be questioned too. Any statement will be premature at this moment.”