DARBHANGA, July 6 -- Unidentified assailants opened fire in broad daylight near the Dilli Mor bus stand under Sadar police station limits on Saturday afternoon, triggering panic in the area, police said. The incident appears to be the fallout of a rivalry over the settlement contract for the bus stand. The dispute reportedly stems from a power struggle between rival groups vying for control over the lucrative contract for managing the bus stand's operations, police further said. Eyewitnesses said four masked men arrived on three motorcycles and fired four rounds before fleeing the scene. The sudden gunfire created chaos, forcing nearby shopkeepers to down their shutters. Fortunately, no injuries or casualties were reported. The firing comes just days after the bus stand's contract was re-allocated by the Darbhanga Municipal Corporation (DMC) for Rs.1.7 crore to a new contractor, replacing the previous one. Sources said tensions had been brewing between the old and new stakeholders since the re-allotment. In anticipation of potential trouble, the district administration had deployed a magistrate and additional police forces at the bus stand. Despite these precautions, the assailants managed to execute the attack and escape unchallenged. Sadar police station SHO Manoj Kumar confirmed that an empty cartridge was recovered from the scene. "We had prior information that supporters of the former bus stand in-charge might cause disturbance, so police deployment had been increased. Locals reported that four rounds were fired," he said. Magistrate Ram Babu Sahni, who was on duty at the time, stated, "Some anti-social elements fired four to five rounds in the air. Fortunately, no one was hurt. We had anticipated trouble due to the recent change in contract allocation, which led to resentment among the previous stakeholders. The situation was brought under control swiftly by deployed security personnel." htc...