Samastipur: A 19-year-old Class 12 student was shot dead by a motorcycle-borne assailant while on her way to school in Bihar’s Samastipur district on Monday morning, triggering protests by angry villagers who blocked a major road and clashed with police.
The victim, identified as Suman Kumari, a student of Kasturba Balika High School, was heading to school around 9:15 am when the attack took place in Kaijiya Vishnupur village under the Vaini police station limits.
According to police and family members, the accused, who allegedly hails from Chandauli village, intercepted Suman after overtaking her motorcycle. He reportedly pulled her by the hair and fired four bullets into her chest before fleeing the spot. She died on the spot. Police recovered four empty cartridge cases from the crime scene.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the accused had allegedly been stalking and harassing Suman on her way to and from school for some time. He had also allegedly threatened to kill her. The victim had informed her family about the harassment, but the matter was not reported to the police.
Expressing regret, Suman’s father, Umesh Kumar Thakur, said the family did not approach the police due to fear of social stigma. “Had we informed the police in time, my daughter might have been alive today,” he said.
The incident sparked widespread outrage in the area. Agitated villagers blocked the Pusa-Tajpur main road, refused to allow police to remove the body, and staged a protest outside the police station. A brief scuffle also broke out between protesters and police personnel. The situation was later brought under control after local elders intervened, following which the body was sent to the Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Senior police officials, including Superintendent of Police Arvind Pratap Singh, SDPO Sanjay Kumar Pandey, Tajpur Circle Inspector Sandeep Kumar, and officers from Pusa and Vaini police stations, visited the crime scene along with a forensic science team to collect evidence.
SDPO Sanjay Kumar Pandey said an FIR is being registered and the accused has been identified. He assured that the case would be pursued through a speedy trial to ensure the accused receives strict punishment.
Police have launched a search operation to arrest the accused, and further investigation is underway.
