Patna, Dec 4 (AHN) A day after a BPSC teacher, Shivani Verma, was gunned down in Bihar’s Araria district, her sister Julie Verma has made serious allegations that have placed a fellow teacher under suspicion, adding a major twist to the case.

Julie Verma, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, rushed to Araria immediately after receiving news of the murder.

Speaking to the media, she revealed what she believes to be the motive behind the murder of her sister.

Julie said, “I demand strict action against my sister’s killer. My sister has been murdered, and I deserve justice and compensation. I have not been allowed to meet any senior officials yet, nor has anyone come to meet me.”

Julie alleged that a teacher named Ranjeet Verma, posted at the same school as Shivani, had been pressuring her for marriage for over a year.

“He told my sister, ‘that we both belong to Uttar Pradesh. You are a BPSC teacher, so am I.’ He repeatedly forced her to marry him,” Julie claimed.

According to her, Shivani had rejected the proposal, saying she wanted to focus on preparing for the UPSC exam and supporting her two elder sisters.

However, Ranjeet allegedly continued to pressure her and even issued threats.

Shivani reportedly informed the school headmaster, Umesh Yadav, about these threats.

Julie claimed that although the headmaster assured Shivani that nothing would happen, the harassment continued.

She alleged that Ranjeet and his friends would ride their motorcycles at high speed near Shivani’s scooter to intimidate her and attempt to cause an accident.

Shivani had complained about this earlier, and the matter was reportedly settled at the school level.

Julie further alleged that to avoid suspicion, Ranjeet may have hatched a conspiracy and used henchmen to carry out the attack.

She also claimed that Shivani had recently gone to meet the District Magistrate to complain that she was being denied special leave that female teachers are entitled to.

Following her complaint, the DM had reprimanded Principal Umesh Yadav, and the matter was even reported in newspapers.

“I believe the staff of the school conspired against my sister,” Julie said.

Julie Verma submitted a written complaint at Narpatganj police station late on Wednesday night, naming teacher Ranjeet Kumar Verma of Kanhaili Middle School as an accused.

Police have detained the named teacher and are interrogating him.

Purnea Range DIG Pramod Kumar Mandal visited the scene and gathered detailed information from locals.

DIG Mandal said, “A named accused has been detained and is being interrogated. The case is being investigated from every angle. There are reports about the involvement of a shooter, and this is also being probed. The incident will be solved soon.”

The attack took place on Wednesday morning between 8 and 9 a.m., when Shivani Verma was travelling from Forbesganj to Kanhaili Senior Secondary School in Narpatganj block.

Near the Kanhaili Shiva Temple, two unidentified armed men on a motorcycle intercepted her and shot at her temple.