One dies, two hurt in Danapur shootout; 12 arrested

Patna: A 16-year-old boy died and two others sustained injuries after a shootout between two rival groups broke out at Tarachak under Danapur police station area in Patna district on Sunday night. Police conducted raids at multiple locations and arrested 12 accused involved in the incident within 12 hours.According to police, the deceased was identified as Nitin Kumar (16), son of late Vidya Rai and a resident of Mustafapur in Bihta. He sustained gunshot injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed during treatment. The two injured victims have been referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for treatment.The shootout took place around 10pm when members of the rival groups opened fire at each other. Police said the clash stemmed from an old enmity between the two groups. Earlier in the evening, one group had allegedly assaulted members of the other near Sainik Chowk, who later retaliated by opening fire.City superintendent of police (West) Bhanu Pratap Singh, who reached the spot with his team, constituted a special investigation team (SIT) after a case was registered at Danapur police station. “Within 12 hours, the SIT arrested 12 accused involved in the shootout,” he said.The arrested include Utkarsh Kumar, Harsh Kumar, Rishu Kumar, Shantanu Kumar, Jayant Kumar alias Janu, Prince Kumar, Ashutosh Kumar, Badal Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Shivranjan Kumar, Shubham Kumar and Sonu Kumar. Police recovered a country-made pistol, five live cartridges, three motorcycles and nine mobile phones from their possession.The SP said the body has been sent for postmortem. A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team visited the spot and collected evidence. “Further investigation is underway and the remaining accused will be arrested soon,” Singh added.