Patna: The Nitish Kumar-led government facing attacks over rising crime graph in the state was in for another setback when a contractor was allegedly burnt to death for refusing to pay a bribe in Bihar’s Gopalganj district.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening when the contractor Rama Shankar Singh had gone to meet the Chief Engineer of Water Resource Department at his official residence. Sources said that he died due to severe burn injuries while he was being rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The police registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint filed by his son, Rana Pratap Singh.
Speaking to reporters he said that “Whenever he (the contractor) asked for the settlement of dues, chief engineer Murlidhar Singh demanded a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from him which he refused”.
Sources claimed that the victim had received a phone call from the executive engineer of the department who escorted him to the Chief Engineer’s residence. The house where the incident occurred was later sealed by the police in the presence of a magistrate.
The FSL team also visited the spot and recovered half burnt bed and used clothes from the room where the incident took place.
However, as per the officials, there is no clarity on how the contractor was set on fire and the matter is being investigated.
