Lakhisarai (Bihar) (PTI): Two persons were killed and four of their relatives injured after a 25-year-old man allegedly went on a shooting spree in Bihar's Lakhisarai district on Monday after his advances towards a girl of the family were turned down, officials said.

The crime of passion happened in Punjabi Mohalla area of Lakhisarai town, they said.

Ashish Chaudhary allegedly opened fire at the family members of the girl when they were returning from a river ghat after paying obeisance to the rising sun, the concluding ritual of Chhath festival, said District Magistrate Amarendra Kumar.

"The assailant was in love with a girl belonging to the family and had been sore ever since his advances were spurned. He fled the spot after the shooting spree. The injured persons were rushed to a local hospital where doctors referred them to Patna for better treatment," the DM told PTI-Bhasha.

Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar said the deceased were brothers, Chandan Jha and Rajnandan Jha, while the injured included their sister Durga Jha and father Shashi Bhushan Jha.

Besides, Lovely Devi, married to one of the deceased, and another close relative Preeti Devi, have sustained injuries, said the SP, adding that efforts were on to track down the culprit.

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Kalaburagi: The Kalyana Karnataka edition of the Kannada daily Vartha Bharati was formally launched on Saturday at a programme held at Dr S M Pandit Rangamandir in Kalaburagi. The event also marked the release of the newspaper’s twenty-third annual special issue, a compilation of selected editorials, and the Kalyana Karnataka special supplement.

The programme was inaugurated by Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader. The Kalyana Karnataka edition of Vartha Bharati was unveiled by Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor-in-Chief of The Wire.

The twenty-third annual special issue was released by multilingual actor Prakash Raj. The book compiling selected editorials of Vartha Bharati was released by B R Patil, Vice-Chairperson of the State Policy and Planning Commission and MLA from Aland. The Kalyana Karnataka special supplement was released by Rahim Khan, Minister for Municipal Administration and Haj.

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Chairperson of the State Waqf Board and Sajjada Nashin of the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah, Hazrat Syed Mohammed Ali Al Husseini, and Kalaburagi South MLA Allamaprabhu Patil were present as chief guests.

Among the special invitees on the dais were Koraneshwara Mahaswamiji of the Tontadarya Anubhava Mantapa, Aland; Bishop Rev Fr Robert Miranda of Kalaburagi; Bhante Varajyothi of Anandur; social activist K Neela; farmers’ leader Chamarasa Mali Patil; DSS state convenor D G Sagar; and activist and singer Ambanna Arolikar.

Speaking on the occasion, Assembly Speaker U T Khader said Vartha Bharati had emerged as the voice of the weak and the voiceless in society and had earned the love, trust and confidence of people across the state. He said the newspaper had carved out a distinct identity in the media landscape and expressed happiness that it was now reaching the Kalyana Karnataka region. He added that Vartha Bharati had remained free from political pressures and inducements and expressed hope that it would continue to stand as a support system for the distressed.

B R Patil said running a newspaper in the present times was not easy, as the media sector had increasingly turned into an industry driven by profit. Amidst such challenges, he said, Vartha Bharati had maintained integrity, honesty and commitment throughout its twenty-three-year journey. He expressed confidence that the newspaper would continue on the same path. Referring to Kalaburagi, he noted that the region frequently witnessed agitations due to the large number of unresolved issues, and said Vartha Bharati should continue to bring the problems and suffering of the people to the attention of the government and contribute to finding solutions.