BARA, March 15: A confrontation escalated into violence when Sunil Gupta, the ward chairperson of Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City-7 in Bara, led a group to the house of local resident Prashuram Giri on Friday night. In response, Giri fired two warning shots from his licensed gun to protect his family.
The incident began around 9:30 PM when stones and bricks were thrown at Giri's house while his family was asleep. As Giri's son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren fled outside in fear, Gupta's group allegedly assaulted them.
"When I came out and saw them beating my grandson," Giri said, "I intervened to stop them, but they started physically abusing my son as well. Then, I retrieved the licensed gun from inside the house and fired two rounds into the air."
Giri claimed he fired the gun in self-defense after realizing the attackers were attempting to loot his house. "If the government had not provided me with a gun, I could have faced a major incident at night," Giri said. "We saved our lives by causing the crowd to flee in fear."
Chairman Gupta defended his actions, stating that he had gone to Giri's house to inquire about an earlier incident in which Giri's grandson allegedly used abusive language against members of the Kalwar community. "I went to Giri's house to investigate after the Kalwar community informed me at night," Gupta said. "However, instead of questioning me, the people inside the house threw stones and bricks. Giri himself took out a gun without any inquiry and fired shots."
On Saturday morning, SP Santosh Tamang, the police chief of Bara, visited Giri's house. "If abusive language was used, he should have informed the police," Tamang said. "It is not appropriate for Chairman Gupta to arrive at the house with a crowd at night."
The police reported that Giri's grandson and members of the Kalwar community had a minor dispute on Friday afternoon. The clash was provoked when Chairman Gupta and his group arrived at Giri's house at night to address the issue.
The police are actively investigating the incident.