Woman shot dead over monetary dispute in Patna village

Patna: A dispute over an outstanding payment for a buffalo turned fatal when a 45-year-old woman was shot dead in Kharpar village under Panchrukhiya police station area of Patna district in the early hours of Friday.The deceased, identified as Rani Devi, wife of Sanjay Paswan, was allegedly hit by a bullet during a heated altercation between her family and a villager over a financial dispute. The accused fled after the incident.According to the victim’s family, the dispute stemmed from the purchase of a buffalo about a year ago. Sanjay had allegedly bought the animal from Viru Paswan for Rs2.5 lakh. While Rs1.5 lakh had already been paid, the remaining Rs1 lakh was still due, leading to frequent disagreements between the two parties.Sonu Kumar, the deceased’s son, alleged that around 2am, Viru arrived at their residence along with two associates and began demanding payment of the outstanding amount. A heated argument followed between the families. Family members claimed that as the dispute escalated, Viru pulled out a firearm and allegedly fired at Sanjay. Although Sanjay managed to escape, the bullet struck his wife, who was standing nearby. She collapsed on the spot with serious injuries.

Relatives immediately rushed her to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead.Following the incident, the accused and his associates fled. Police reached the spot, recovered a spent cartridge and secured the area for forensic examination. SDPO (Sadar-II) Ranjan Kumar rushed to the spot and launched an investigation.“An FSL team was called to collect scientific evidence, while the victim’s body was sent to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) for the postmortem,” the SDPO said, adding that police are recording statements of family members and conducting raids to nab the accused.