A 70-year-old man was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Rajpatti in ward 8 of Bodebarsain Municipality, Saptari, early Sunday morning. Police have launched an investigation using a trained sniffer dog to trace the perpetrators.

The victim, identified as Ramdular Das (Sah), a follower of the Kabir Panth sect, was found dead with a bullet wound near his hut at around 1:45am, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Dambar Bahadur Puri, spokesperson for the District Police Office, Saptari.

Das, who had been living alone for the past 10–12 years after separating from his family, resided in a small tin-roofed house built on his own land. He had also been constructing a small religious centre nearby to promote the Kabir Panth teachings.

Police said he was shot from behind, with the bullet striking near his navel. Two bullet casings were recovered from the scene. His body has been sent to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan for postmortem.

According to police, the provincial crime investigation team from Janakpur has been mobilised along with a trained dog to assist in the probe.

Das’s wife passed away around 20 years ago. He is survived by two sons, Prithvi Narayan and Surya Narayan.