Birgunj, May 9:

An unidentified group shot dead a notorious criminal Chhote Lal Sahani at Motihari town in Bihar this morning.

According to the Indian police, armed assailants shot Sahani dead while he was being taken to the court from Motihari prison. Sahani was the leader of an Indian criminal gang that was allegedly involved in kidnapping businessmen of Birgunj and nearby areas for the past three years.

He was jailed in Motihari prison for the last 14 months. Although the Indian police confirmed that Sahani was shot dead on court premises, they did not give other details.

Nepal Police has been claiming that Chhote Lal Sahani’s gang was behind the murder of businessman Abhimanyu Kumar Shah of Kalaiya in Bara last January. Businessmen of Birgunj also had complained several times that they had received death threats from Sahani’s gang which had demanded lakhs of rupees from them.