Four criminals — who opened fire at a house in Patna in broad daylight today — were arrested after a 30-minute operation. The incident took place in Patna’s Kankarbagh area around 2 pm.

As soon as the information reached, the Patna police and Bihar’s Special Task Force commandos surrounded the area and cordoned off the house. The men were rounded up after a shootout.  

The police said the attack was a fallout of a land dispute with the home owner. The details can be ascertained after questioning the arrested men. 

“There were four rounds of firing,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Awakash Kumar. “Four people have been detained and taken into custody in the incident… No one was injured,” he added. 

Some of the criminals, however, have escaped, he said. The police are trying to find them. “We are conducting raids at several places to find the other accused…We have not found Dharmendra,” the officer said. The situation in the area is now normal, he added.

Such daylight criminal activity has not been witnessed in the city for years. 

Sources said the attack indicates a growing audacity on part of the criminals and also the weakening grip of the police.

This is expected to provide ammunition to the Opposition to corner the government on the law-and-order situation.

During the rule of Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal. The BJP had kept up relentless pressure on the government, calling it “Jungle Raj”.

RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav claimed “more than 200 rounds of bullets” are fired every day in Bihar, and kidnappings are rampant across Patna.

“Crime is increasing day by day in the state. We have been saying several times that there is not a single day when more than 200 rounds of bullets are not fired in Bihar. It happens every day. Kidnapping is happening everywhere in Patna… People are tortured in police custody. They die in custody…” he said.