Murder she miswrote: A young schoolteacher’s murder in Bihar and a case of mistaken identity

According to police, the seeds of the crime were sown when Husn Ara, also known as Husnan, suspected that her husband was having an affair with a teacher at a primary school in Khabdah village in Narpatganj.

“Acting on this suspicion, she conspired with two men, identified as Raja and Chhotu, to eliminate the teacher she believed was involved with her husband,” Araria SP Anjani Kumar said on Friday.

Police alleged that the two intermediaries arranged a contract killing for Rs 3 lakh, engaging Mohammad Maroof and Mohammad Sohail to execute the attack. “They had been briefed about the target’s name, scooty, route and approximate time of travel,” the SP said. The shooters also allegedly conducted reconnaissance a day before the killing.

On the morning of December 3, they allegedly collected a motorcycle and “positioned themselves near the Kanhauli Shiva temple before the teacher’s usual commute time”, Kumar said.

However, the teacher they were planning to target was on leave and did not travel by that route that day, police said. Instead, the assailants mistakenly targeted Shivani, who police said had the same type of two-wheeler as the other teacher.

Shivani, a teacher at Kanhauli Middle School, was then intercepted by the assailants at around 9.20 am. “Sohail stopped her and fired a shot from behind her neck. She was taken to Araria Sadar Hospital, where she died during treatment,” the SP said.

Her sister lodged a complaint at Narpatganj police station and an FIR was filed. “In the complaint, the victim’s sister mentioned her suspicion about a fellow teacher at Shivani’s school, alleging that he had been persistently insisting on marriage despite her disinterest,” the SP said.

He added, “Given the sensitivity of the case, an SIT was formed under Forbesganj SDPO Mukesh Kumar Saha, with teams from Narpatganj, Phulkaha, Forbesganj and Ghurana police stations, and the District Intelligence Unit. The case was solved within 48 hours.”

CCTV footage, technical inputs and scientific analysis of the crime scene helped the team identify the accused, police said. “After the shooting, the two were found to have fled through the Khabdah–Dargahiganj route towards the national highway and later returned the motorcycle,” SP Kumar said.

Police then arrested Maroof, who “confessed to the crime during questioning”, after which they also recovered the motorcycle and the country-made pistol the assailants used.

“Sohail was arrested soon after, and on further investigation, Husn Ara was identified as the main conspirator and was also taken into custody,” the officer said.

Police said they are still conducting searches for other suspects, including Raja and Chhotu.