In a shocking escalation of a petty dispute, a shopkeeper in Bihar’s Madhepura district was shot in the face by bike-borne assailants late Tuesday night. The incident, which unfolded near TP College under Sadar police station limits, has left the local community reeling in fear and outrage.
Pintu Kesari, a 35-year-old grocer who has been running his kirana store for the past 12 years, was preparing to close shop around midnight when two men on a motorcycle arrived demanding cigarettes and gutkha. When Pintu politely refused, citing the late hour and closed shutters, tempers flared. What started as a verbal altercation quickly turned violent as the furious men fired a single shot at point-blank range into his mouth.
Eyewitnesses, including Pintu’s brother Pappu Kesari and staff member Shahnavaz who were present at the time, rushed to his aid. They immediately alerted family members, who ferried the critically injured man first to a local medical college before he was referred to a private hospital in Saharsa for advanced treatment. Doctors there successfully extracted the bullet, but Pintu’s condition remains precarious.
Police swarmed the scene shortly after, launching a full-scale investigation. Sadar Sub-Divisional Police Officer Praveen Bharti confirmed that teams are meticulously scanning nearby CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators. ‘We are working around the clock and will apprehend the culprits soon,’ he assured.
The brazen attack has ignited widespread panic in Madhepura. Residents are demanding round-the-clock police patrols, especially after dark, to prevent such lawlessness. This incident underscores the rising tide of gun violence over trivial matters in Bihar, where even a simple ‘no’ can prove fatal.