Gopalgunj:
Right inside the high-security Gopalgunj District Jail, in the presence of four guards, seven prisoners beat a doctor, Dr BD Singh, to death.
Instead of raising an alarm the guards ran away.
''They are accused of kidnapping for ransom of a school boy that happened in 2009. Eight of them are serving life sentence. One of the main accused was allegedly said to be suffering from chicken pox. They called the doctor and told him that the man's condition is very serious,'' said K S Anupam, Superintendent of Police, Gopalgunj.
''It was all pre-planned. When the doctor went to treat the prisoner, the prisoners attacked him from behind. Compared to the number of prisoners, there were only four guards. What could they do? So they ran away,'' said Arjun, one of the relatives of the doctor.
The attackers were allegedly upset with Dr Singh because he had refused to issue them permission to be treated outside jail, where they could connect with their criminal friends better.
The police say they have no jurisdiction inside jails and can't account for this security breakdown.
But the question remains what about the District Administration that had received letters from the doctor saying he feared for his life.
''They had threatened to kill him. So he wrote to the district administration seeking help, but the officials did not pay any attention,'' said P D Singh, the brother of the doctor who died.
''If the relatives have proof that Dr Singh had sent a written complaint, let them show it to us. We have no such information. There is no breakdown of law and order in the state,'' said Amir Subhani, Bihar Home Secretary.
Bihar was synonymous with Goondaraj for decades, a tag Nitish Kumar has fought very hard to shed.
The Gopalgunj jail murder is a big jolt to Nitish Kumar's law and order record.