Four of family shot at in Bihar's Muzaffarpur

Patna, Oct 26 (IANS) Four members of a family suffered gunshot injuries when their neighbours, with whom they had a dispute, opened fire on them in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on Thursday.

The victims -- Hem Thakur, Laxman Thakur, Aman Thakur and Moti Devi -- are natives of Jajuar village under Katra block in the district.

According to police, the victims had an altercation with their neighbour Ankit Thakur and his family during a cultural event in Jajuar village.

To avenge the insult, Thakur, along with a few bike-borne men opened fire on the victims. While Hem Thakur and Laxman Thakur sustained gunshot injuries on their back, Aman Thakur and Moti Devi suffered wounds on their limbs.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger.

"Four members of a family were injured in an indiscriminate firing in Janjuar village. The violence was triggered with a verbal duel between them on Vijayadashami. They have family disputes with each other," said Rakesh Kumar, SSP of Muzaffarpur.

"As soon as we learnt about the firing, DSP east and SHO of Jaguar police outpost reached the village and investigated the matter. We have recovered six dead cartridges from the spot and taken the victims' statement. An FIR has been registered against five named persons and three unnamed persons. The accused are absconding and efforts are on to nab them," the top cop of the district said.