An old enmity finally erupted into violence
In the quiet outskirts of Patna, a Saturday evening walk became the final act of a long and unresolved conflict. Dharamveer Paswan, forty years old, was shot outside his home by a village head named Bhagat Mukhiya — a man entrusted with local authority who allegedly chose violence over any other resolution. Paswan died the following day, leaving behind a family, an unanswered grievance, and a reminder that old wounds, left to fester in silence, can eventually demand a terrible reckoning.
- A man stepped outside his home on an ordinary evening and was shot — the eruption of a feud that had been quietly building for years.
- Dharamveer Paswan survived long enough to reach a hospital, but his injuries were beyond what doctors could repair, and he died by Sunday.
- The alleged shooter, village head Bhagat Mukhiya, vanished into the night immediately after the attack, leaving police scrambling to locate him.
- One suspect, Subham Kumar, has been arrested, but the primary accused remains at large as a manhunt spreads across the region.
- The specific nature of the old enmity has not been disclosed, leaving the community to sit with loss and uncertainty while justice remains incomplete.
Dharamveer Paswan was forty years old when he stepped outside his home in Jalgovind, on the outskirts of Patna, on a Saturday evening. He was shot there by Bhagat Mukhiya, a village head, and did not return inside. Paswan was rushed to a government hospital, where doctors worked to save him — but his injuries were too severe. By Sunday, he was dead.
Barh police station responded quickly. Officers reached the scene and, according to SDPO Anand Kumar Singh, determined almost immediately that the shooting was not random. It was the violent conclusion of a long-standing personal dispute between the two men — old enmity that had finally broken into the open.
The police response split in two directions. One man, Subham Kumar, was arrested in connection with the incident. But Bhagat Mukhiya, the village head who allegedly fired the shot, had already fled. By Sunday morning, a manhunt was underway, his whereabouts unknown.
The case now rests in an uneasy in-between: a family bereaved, a suspect in custody, and the man most responsible still missing. The precise grievance that drove Mukhiya to reach for a gun has not been made public — only its consequence remains, a life ended and a community left to reckon with what local authority, corrupted by personal hatred, can become.
Dharamveer Paswan was forty years old when he stepped outside his house in the Jalgovind area, just beyond Patna's edges, on a Saturday evening. He did not come back inside. A village head named Bhagat Mukhiya shot him there, according to police, and then disappeared into the darkness.
Paswan made it to the nearest government hospital. He was alive when he arrived, alive when doctors began treating him. But his injuries were too severe. By Sunday, he was dead.
Barh police station received word of the shooting and moved quickly. Officers reached the scene, found Paswan, and rushed him for care. They knew almost immediately that this was not a random act. According to Anand Kumar Singh, the Barh SDPO, the shooting stemmed from old enmity—a long-standing conflict between two men that had finally erupted into violence. The village head, it seemed, had decided to settle it with a gun.
What happened next was a split response. Police arrested one man, Subham Kumar, in connection with the incident. But the person they really wanted—Bhagat Mukhiya, the village head who pulled the trigger—had already left the area. By Sunday morning, when Singh spoke to reporters, a manhunt was underway. The police were looking for him, and they were not yet certain where he had gone.
The case sits now in that uncertain space between crime and consequence. A man is dead. His family has lost him. A village head is missing. One suspect is in custody. The old enmity that sparked the shooting remains unnamed in the official account—the specific grievance, the particular insult or injury that led Mukhiya to believe violence was the answer, has not been disclosed. What remains is the bare fact: a dispute old enough to fester, a moment of decision, a gun, and a body that did not survive the night.
Notable Quotes
The incident took place in Jalgovind area when the village head shot Paswan as he was walking outside his house on Saturday evening— Barh SDPO Anand Kumar Singh
According to preliminary probe, old enmity was the reason for the incident— Barh SDPO Anand Kumar Singh
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would a village head—someone with authority, with standing in the community—resort to shooting someone over an old dispute?
That's the question, isn't it. Village heads occupy a strange position. They have power but often lack the formal constraints of actual law enforcement. When a grievance festers long enough, and you're used to being obeyed, the line between authority and violence can blur.
Do we know what the original dispute was about?
The police haven't released those details. All they've said is "old enmity." That could mean anything—land, honor, a family slight, money. In rural areas, these things accumulate.
Why was Subham Kumar arrested if Bhagat Mukhiya was the one who shot Paswan?
That's unclear from what's been reported. He may have been involved in some way, or he may have information. The police are still building the case.
And Mukhiya just vanished?
He fled the scene immediately after shooting. By the time police arrived, he was gone. That's why they launched a manhunt—he's still out there.
What happens to a village head who kills someone?
He faces murder charges, assuming they catch him. But the fact that he held authority in that community, that he had power over people—that complicates things. It also makes people less likely to turn him in quickly.