A late-night ambush in Banka district's Balia village has left two young men dead and the entire region on edge, after unidentified attackers riding a Scorpio SUV opened fire on a motorcycle carrying the duo and sped away in their vehicle.
How the attack unfolded
The shooting took place on Sunday night in Balia village, which falls under the Ratanpur Makdumma panchayat of the Amarpur block in Banka district. News of the twin killing spread quickly through the area, leaving residents of the otherwise quiet village shaken. According to villagers who witnessed the attack, the assailants arrived in a Scorpio, cornered the two youths who were riding a motorcycle, and opened fire on them repeatedly. Both men died on the spot. The attackers picked a deserted stretch of road inside the village to carry out the killing before speeding off in their vehicle, leaving no immediate trace.
Conflicting details on the victims' identity
Initial information named the deceased as Gunjan Singh and Situ Singh, both residents of Balia village. However, police later said the two youths were actually residents of Dharamrai village, identifying them by the names Gunjan and Shishu. The discrepancy in the identification has not yet been resolved.
Police and forensic teams rush to the spot
As soon as word of the killings spread, personnel from Amarpur police station reached the village, cordoned off the area and began their investigation. They were soon joined by Superintendent of Police Amitesh Kumar, Sub-Divisional Police Officer Amar Vishwas and a team from the Forensic Science Lab, who collected evidence from the scene using scientific methods. Superintendent Amitesh Kumar told reporters that preliminary findings point to a targeted shooting, and that investigators are examining the case from multiple angles based on the evidence gathered at the spot. No arrests had been made by the time the teams wrapped up work at the scene, and the probe is being carried forward on several fronts at once.
Third youth flees, police on the hunt
Villagers told the police that a third young man had been present with the two victims at the time of the firing but managed to escape once the shooting began. Police are now searching for him, hoping that his account of what happened will help establish the motive behind the killings and take the investigation closer to identifying the attackers.
Bodies sent for postmortem, hunt for attackers on
Both bodies have been sent for postmortem examination. Superintendent Amitesh Kumar said raids are being carried out to trace and arrest the culprits based on the evidence collected so far, and assured that the case would be cracked soon.
