BJP leader in Bihar shot at, one arrested

A BJP leader in Bihar wason Wednesday shot at by unidentified assailants here,triggering a spat between the ruling party and the oppositionover alleged deterioration in the law and order situation.

Azfar Shamsi, a spokesman of the state BJP who alsotaught at the Jamalpur College in the district, was shot at bymotorcycle-borne attackers while his car was entering thepremises of the institute, Superintendent of Police, Munger,Manavjeet Singh Dhillon, said.

The assailants sped away after firing several roundsand Shamsi was left profusely bleeding, with bullet injuriesin a leg and close to one of his ears, the SP said.

In his statement, Shamsi alleged that he suspected theinvolvement of one of his colleagues at the college, who hasbeen arrested, the SP said, adding that the academician-cum-politician was later referred to a Patna hospital for furthertreatment.

Meanwhile, RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari reactedwith alarm and remarked ''we wonder who is safe in Bihar underthe Nitish Kumar regime when even a leader of the BJP, thesenior partner in the ruling alliance, is attacked in broaddaylight''.

BJP national spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain, however,dismissed the opposition charge and asserted that ''the policehave acted swiftly. I have spoken to the SP concerned and theman whom Shamsi had suspected has been arrested. Theopposition has this habit of making noise over everydevelopment''.

When asked whether he still believed that ''sushasan''(good governance) prevailed in Bihar, Hussain, who got electedto the state legislative council last week, retorted ''whynot?''.