Bihar journalist shot at: According to police, the attack on Mishra is a case of personal enmity. Bihar journalist shot at: According to police, the attack on Mishra is a case of personal enmity.

A journalist with a local daily, who also ran a common services centre (CSC) at his home, was shot at by two persons when he was on his way to home from a bank after having withdrawn money. The incident was reported under Bansi police station area of Bihar’s Arwal district on Thursday afternoon.

One person, who belonged to the victim’s village, has been arrested in this connection. His associate is absconding. The police said that robbery or old personal enmity could be the reason behind the incident. The victim is stated to be out of danger.

According to the police, Pankaj Mishra, a resident of Bansi village, in Arwal, had gone to the Punjab National Bank in neighbouring Mali village this afternoon, from where he withdrew cash, reportedly to the tune of around Rs 1 lakh. He was returning home with the bag on his motorcycle, when two bike-borne assailants intercepted him on the way.

They snatched the money bag and also opened fire at him, when he apparently offered resistance, the police said. One person was caught on the spot, while the other managed to escape. Mishra, who worked for a Hindi daily, was taken to Patna Medical College Hospital, where he was reported to be out of danger.

Arwal Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Mishra said: “Mishra used to run a CSC at his home. He had withdrawn money in connection with some work. Two persons, both from his village, tailed him for some distance and shot at him, besides snatching his bag. One of them, identified as Kundan Kumar Mahto, has been arrested. But his associate, Ambika Mahto, managed to escape.” Mishra added that the case was being probed from the angle of robbery and also past enmity, if any. Efforts are on to trace the other culprit and also recover the money.

The incident took place at a time when protests across the country are happening against the killing of Gauri Lankesh. The Special Investigating Team (SIT) has started its probe into the murder of Lankesh with the Karnataka government saying today it was hopeful of nabbing the assailants “as soon as possible.”

The Karnataka government yesterday announced the formation of a 21-member SIT team headed by IGP (Intelligence) B K Singh with DCP (West) M N Anucheth as the Investigating Officer to probe the killing of Gauri that led to a wave of countrywide protests and condemnation across the political spectrum.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd