PatnaJul 5, 2025 21:15 IST
First published on: Jul 5, 2025 at 21:15 IST
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Political temperature in poll-bound Bihar soared following the murder of Gopal Khemka, a prominent businessman and owner of Magadh Hospital, who was gunned down late Friday night by bike-borne assailants near his house in the Gandhi Maidan area in Patna.
Barely a few hours before Khemka’s killing, in a separate incident, three people were killed and two others injured in a violent clash between two groups in Siwan.
These killings gave ammunition to the RJD-led Opposition Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) which targeted the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government, alleging that there has been “a surge in lawlessness across Bihar under the Nitish government”.
Bihar is headed to the Assembly polls in October-November this year, which gave urgency to the Opposition’s attack while putting the NDA dispensation on the defensive.
Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav questioned how could such a high-profile murder occur near a police station in the state capital. “A prominent businessman in Patna has been shot dead just a few steps away from the police station! Every month, hundreds of traders are being killed in Bihar, but we still can’t call it ‘jungle raj’? Because this is what the scriptures call media management, perception management, and image management,” Tejashwi alleged in a social media post.
CM Nitish held an urgent meeting with the Director General of Police and other senior officials to take stock of the state’s law and order situation, following which he tweeted, “Law and order is the government’s top priority. Whoever commits a crime, regardless of who they are, will not be spared under any circumstances. I have instructed that investigations into criminal incidents be expedited and that swift action be taken against the guilty. The police and administration have been directed to work with full alertness and strictness to maintain law and order.”
Khemka’s killing came about seven years after his son Gunjan Khemka was also shot dead in Hajipur. Gunjan was said to be a BJP worker.
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari alleged that the Bihar-based businessman’s killing in one of Patna’s most upscale neighbourhoods indicated that law and order situation has collapsed in the state and that the Nitish government has lost its “moral authority” to remain in power, claiming that “criminals were emboldened while the police appeared helpless”.
Independent MP from Purnea, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, who is associated with the Congress, said in an X post: “No one is safe… Criminals are being protected by the current NDA government in the state. Nitish ji, please spare Bihar.”
BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma, however, said, “The police are actively working on this case. Whoever is responsible won’t go unpunished.”
Following the Siwan killings, Tejashwi had alleged in an X post: “Massacre in Bihar! Six people shot in Siwan! Three died on the spot! Under the leadership of an unconscious Chief Minister, law and order have collapsed!”
