Patna: Ramakant Yadav, a notorious sand mafia kingpin of Patna district, was shot dead in broad daylight on Thursday, triggering panic in the area. The killing took place at his ancestral home in Nisarpura village under Ranitalab Kanpa police station.
Eyewitnesses said that around Thursday evening, Ramakant was walking in the garden of his house when half a dozen armed assailants on motorbikes arrived and opened fire. Before he could react, bullets tore through his body and he collapsed to the ground. Family members rushed him to a private hospital in Bihta, where doctors declared him dead.
Ramakant, who dominated the illegal sand mining business across Bihta, Vikram, and Paliganj under Danapur, had numerous cases registered against him, including murder, police rifle robbery, and train robbery. Police officers who reached the spot after the incident said he was a long-standing target of rival gangs involved in the lucrative sand trade.
According to locals, Ramakant’s murder was part of an ongoing supremacy rivalry. Police are awaiting statements from his family to identify the attackers and motive behind the killing.
Fifteen years ago, his brother Umakant Yadav was murdered while fishing. Later, when cousin Murari Yadav, who was accused of that murder, was released from jail, he was killed by being run over by a car – an act allegedly orchestrated by Ramakant. Years earlier, Ramakant’s uncle was killed in a police encounter.
Despite his criminal history, Ramakant remained influential, amassing property worth crores from the illegal sand business. He always carried a licensed pistol and kept personal bodyguards due to his enmity with other mafia leaders.
