I want him hanged,” Draupadi Devi says, between bouts of tears and practical exchanges with relatives on what to do next. Her daughter and two sons have just been killed by a man who lived across the street. He had allegedly stood less than 25 metres away, and shot at six of her family of 18. Her husband and two daughters-in-law survive, no doubt scarred by the trauma of November 20, when the tragedy took place.
The police say Ashish Choudhary, 25, used two 9-mm pistols, one in each hand, to shoot at the family members between 7.30 a.m. and 7.45 a.m., as they returned after offering prayers to the rising sun on the last day of Chhath Puja. During the four-day festival, married women pray for the well-being of their partners and children.
Choudhary fled soon after, and has not been caught yet. “He first shot at the woman, and then at the rest of the family,” says Lakhisarai Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Raushan Kumar. Bloodstains in the gali (alley) outside, where the walls of the man’s and woman’s homes almost meet, still look fresh, a gory reminder to visitors, who come to support Devi, of the tragedy.
