Patna, July 17 (IANS) Following the broad daylight murder of prisoner Chandan Mishra inside Paras Hospital in Patna on Thursday, police have identified all five assailants using CCTV footage from the hospital lobby and have launched intensive raids to arrest them.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by City SP (East) has been constituted to probe the case, with the Bihar STF assisting the SIT.

The SIT has identified the escape routes used by the five accused after the attack.

Patna Police, along with STF teams, are conducting raids in various areas, including Patna, Phulwarisharif, and adjoining Hajipur, to nab the accused. However, no arrests have been made so far.

On Thursday morning, five armed criminals entered Paras Hospital, one of Patna’s largest private hospitals, and gunned down Chandan Mishra, a prisoner from Buxar who was undergoing treatment on parole.

According to CCTV footage, the five criminals, four of whom were wearing caps, were seen entering ward number 209, where Mishra was admitted.

Each carried a pistol, and after entering the room, they executed the murder swiftly.

While the attack was underway, the hospital lobby outside the ward remained silent, with no police personnel or private security visible in the vicinity.

Witnesses from adjacent wards came out upon hearing the gunshots but, terrified by the scene, retreated immediately.

After committing the crime, the assailants managed to escape easily.

The incident has raised serious questions about the security arrangements for prisoners admitted for treatment in private hospitals.

Chandan Mishra, who was a notorious criminal and an inmate of Beur Jail, was under treatment at Paras Hospital on parole.

“Where were the police personnel deployed for the security of Chandan Mishra, and why were security arrangements so lax despite the risk of a gang war?” is a question now being raised across Patna.

Following the incident, a group of people, including the family members of Chandan Mishra, sit on a Dharna outside the gate of Paras Hospital.

Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma has stated that police are actively pursuing the case and the criminals will be arrested soon, adding that the incident has been taken very seriously.

The attack carried out in broad daylight inside a high-profile hospital has put the Patna Police under intense scrutiny and has raised concerns about law and order in Bihar’s capital.

–IANS

ajk/dan