Tauseef ‘Badshah’, prime suspect in brazen Patna hospital shooting, arrested from Kolkata

The suspects, the sources said, had fled to West Bengal in a white SUV and had been lodging at the guest house in Kolkata’s Anandapur, allegedly telling its staff that they had come to the city for treatment. They were produced in a court in Alipore, which granted the Bihar Police transit remand for two days.

In a post on X Sunday, the Kolkata Police said: “In an intelligence-based operation by the Kolkata Police STF, four persons involved in the Chandan Mishra murder case of Patna have been taken into custody. Bihar Police is taking necessary legal action to produce the accused before the competent Court”.

According to investigators, the victim, Mishra, had been facing several murder cases and was undergoing treatment at the hospital. At the time of the murder, he was out on parole.

“Preliminary interrogation has revealed that the conspiracy to carry out the murder was hatched at the residence of one of the arrested suspects, Nishu Khan. The crime was primarily executed by Tauseef. Interrogation of other suspects is ongoing,” one officer said.

The ‘rivalry’

According to police sources, a second surveillance video minutes before the attack purportedly shows Tauseef arriving outside the hospital at 7:13 am, accompanied by a helmeted man with a backpack. Soon after, four other people, all wearing caps, join him, and the men huddle briefly before Tauseef leads them all inside.

“At least six men are suspected to have been directly involved in the operation. Five of them, including Tauseef, all carrying firearms, entered the hospital at around 7:20 am and fatally shot Chandan,” a senior police officer said.

Preliminary investigations appear to suggest the attack was orchestrated by Sheru Singh, a former friend-turned-foe, sources said.

“Chandan and Sheru were once friends, but the two fell out while they were at Bhagalpur jail,” the second officer said.

While Mishra allegedly operated in Buxar, Sheru is believed to have kept his operations to Ara. According to sources, the two have allegedly been linked to eight murders in 2011 – including the high-profile killing of businessman Rajendra Keshri. While Chandan was initially given a death penalty in the case, the Patna High Court commuted it to a life term in February 2020.

“After his arrest, Sheru had even broken out of jail but was eventually tracked down and re-arrested near the Indo-Nepal border,” the officer said. “After the two eventually fell out, it escalated into a turf war.”

Sheru, who is allegedly also linked to a heist at Tanishq jewellery store in Ara earlier this year, is currently lodged in West Bengal’s Purulia District Jail in connection with another case.

“Chandan had been released on parole two days prior to the incident. He was expected to return to Beur Central Jail the very next day he was shot dead,” the officer said.

Following the incident, security arrangements at the private hospital have also come under scrutiny, with the Patna Police suspecting inside help.

A resident of the Phulwari Sharif in Patna, Tauseef’s mother is a schoolteacher and his father runs a small hardware store, sources said. In his videos on YouTube, Tauseef appears to project himself as a gangster figure, even referring to himself as the ‘King of Patna’. Flashy with dramatic dialogues, the videos appear to mimic gangster movies.

Tauseef allegedly has arms act cases as well as drug charges against him. According to police sources, the suspects had unsuccessfully tried to secure a room in Sukhobrishti complex in Kolkata’s New Town.

Sitting in an ambulance outside the Alipore court, Tauseef’s cousin Nishu Khan, who suffers from paralysis, denied the allegations, telling the media that he “knew nothing” and that he had come to “to eventually head to Delhi for treatment”. He also went on to allege that he had “told Tauseef to surrender” before the police.

“After my accident, Tauseef has always stayed with me… I had come to Kolkata because I was to go to Delhi for treatment. There was no other motive,” he said, adding: “We continuously told him not to do anything for which the family will be harassed.”