India, July 13 -- Three back-to-back killings in Bihar's capital Patna within a span of days have triggered a political firestorm with opposition raising serious questions over the Nitish Kumar-led government's handling of law and order in the state. The victims include a BJP leader, a prominent businessman, and a grocery shop owner.

The latest in the string of murders was reported on Saturday, when BJP leader Surendra Kewat was shot dead by bike-borne assailants near his farm in Sheikhpura village along the Bihta-Sarmera State Highway, reported Live Hindustan.

Earlier the same day, Vikram Jha, a grocery shop owner originally from Darbhanga, was fatally shot outside his shop in Patna's Ram Krishna Nagar area.

These killings come close ...