3 more arrested in Patna hospital murder case after police encounter

Three persons, wanted in the murder of gangster Chandan Mishra at a hospital in Patna, were arrested in Bihar's Bhojpur district on Tuesday following a gunfight with the police, officials said.

Those arrested were identified as Balwant Kumar, Raviranjan Kumar Singh and Abhisekh Kumar, they said.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the Special Task Force and district police reached the Bihiyan area around 5 am, looking for them.

Noticing the police personnel, they tried to escape by opening fire, officials said.

The police personnel retaliated and overpowered them. Balwant Kumar and Raviranjan Kumar Singh sustained bullet injuries.

No policemen were injured in the exchange of fire, officials said.

Three pistols and two magazines with four cartridges were seized from their possession, they said.

Kumar and Singh are undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Ara, the district headquarters of Bhojpur. They are the shooters involved in the killing of Mishra, officials said.

Mishra, a murder convict who was out on parole, was shot dead by gunmen inside the private hospital on July 17.

Police arrested Tauseef alias Badshah, the prime accused, his cousin Nishu Khan and their two associates, Harsh and Bhim, from Kolkata on Saturday in connection with the case.

"With the arrest of Balwant Kumar and Raviranjan Kumar Singh, police have succeeded in arresting three of the five shooters involved in the killing of Mishra. Tauseef, another shooter, is already in police custody," said a senior police officer.

"Two shooters are still absconding. We will soon nab them," he said, refusing to reveal their identities.