Araria Superintendent of Police (SP) Jitendra Kumar termed the incident “very tragic” and said the situation was under control. (File photo)
Two people were killed in Bihar’s Araria district Thursday after a dispute in a crowded marketplace escalated into murder and led to a mob lynching, police said.
The incident occurred in the Forbesganj area, where a man identified as Nabi Hussain, a pickup vehicle driver and a resident of Amauna village under Bathnaha police station limits, had arrived at a local marketing yard. According to police, an altercation broke out between Hussain and a sattu seller, Ravi Chauhan.
The argument quickly turned violent, with Chauhan allegedly attacking Hussain with a knife and severing his head, police said. Soon after, locals and relatives of the deceased apprehended Chauhan and allegedly assaulted him. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, where he was declared dead during treatment.
Araria Superintendent of Police (SP) Jitendra Kumar termed the incident “very tragic” and said the situation was under control. “There is a man named Nabi Hussain, who was a pickup truck driver. He had an altercation with another man named Ravi Chauhan. The victim’s throat was slit using a knife, and he was brutally murdered. After the incident, the accused was apprehended by the public and was subsequently beaten up. The police took him to the hospital, where he was declared dead during treatment,” Kumar said.
He added that the body of the deceased had been sent for post-mortem and that strict legal action would be taken against all those found involved.
Police said the situation in the area is now under control, with security stepped up and officials maintaining close vigil to prevent any further unrest. Authorities also appealed to residents not to pay heed to rumours.
According to a local source, following the killing, tensions escalated in the locality, with angry groups resorting to vandalism. An ambulance that had arrived to transport the body was damaged, and a section of the crowd later reached the Forbesganj sub-divisional hospital, where property was also vandalised, the source said, adding that medical staff reportedly left the premises amid the unrest.
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Senior police officials reached the spot with additional forces to bring the situation under control and restore order.
The incident also drew political reactions, with RJD National Working President and Bihar Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav criticising the state government, alleging a deterioration in law and order. In a post on X, he said the incident reflected “the grim situation” in Bihar and questioned the government’s handling of crime, claiming such incidents indicated a lack of fear among criminals.
