The occupants of an SUV that crashed into a car on Patna’s Boring Canal Road returned an hour later and opened fire Saturday evening, police said. The SUV was then chased by a police vehicle, but managed to evade capture.
“No injury has been reported so far,” Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Awakash Kumar said. Citywide alerts have been issued and multiple teams have been deployed to trace the vehicle and identify those involved, he said.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Saket Kumar said that as per the preliminary investigation, the incident began when a black SUV, reportedly without a number plate, crashed into a hatchback car from behind on Boring Canal Road, under the S K Puri police station limits. “Following the collision, an altercation took place between the occupants of the two vehicles. But bystanders intervened, and the SUV occupants left the scene with the vehicle,” the SDPO said, adding that the investigation suggests the “same vehicle returned approximately an hour later”.
“The suspects in the SUV approached from the side of Pant Bhavan and fired two rounds near Hartali Chowk. A short distance away, two more rounds were fired, and then, after taking a U-turn towards R-Block, two additional rounds were fired on the flyover,” Kumar said. Police recovered a live cartridge and an empty shell from the scene.
Police said Additional Director General (Law & Order) Pankaj Darad was returning from a meeting at the time of the incident, trailing two-three cars behind the suspects.
“He instructed his driver to pursue the suspects. His bodyguard also fired in retaliation. The black SUV was pursued up to the GPO area,” the SDPO said. However, he said, the suspects managed to evade capture.
“CCTV footage from the area and the route are being analysed. Teams have been formed and continuous efforts are being made to identify, locate and arrest the suspects at the earliest,” SSP Awakash said.
