Gunmen fire outside Muzaffarpur school, leave Rs 50 lakh extortion note

Muzaffarpur/Hajipur, Sep 13 (PTI) Unidentified motorcycle-borne men opened fire in front of a private school in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district early on Sunday and fled, leaving behind a note demanding Rs 50 lakh in extortion, police said.

Muzaffarpur DSP (West) Suchitra Kumari said footage from CCTV cameras in surrounding areas was being examined to identify the suspects.

Police are investigating the extortion demand as well as a possible land dispute involving the school, she added.

Before opening fire, the attackers pasted a poster on the school's main gate, warning the management of "serious consequences" if the demand for Rs 50 lakh was not met, officials said.

They added that CCTV footage from the school showed men wearing helmets arriving on a motorcycle, pasting the extortion note on the gate and firing several rounds.

In Bihar's Vaishali district, unknown assailants opened fire at the residence of a local right-wing organisation's member in Adalpur village under the Sadar police station area, but no injuries were reported.

"At around 9.30 pm on Saturday, unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants fired around 10 rounds at the house of Rajeev Brahmarshi. There is no report of any casualties in the incident. Ten spent cartridges were recovered from the spot," Vaishali SSP Shubhank Mishra told reporters.

He said the motive behind the firing was not yet clear.

"There is a dispute related to the Marutinandan temple at Mahua Mor, which was established by Brahmarshi. Prima facie, that dispute doesn't seem to be big enough to warrant such an indiscriminate firing. Police are investigating all aspects of the case to determine the exact motive," he said.