Patna, Feb 28 (IANS): The nephew of Congress MLA Santosh Mishra has been gunned down by six unidentified bike-borne assailants in Bihar's Rohtas district.

The deceased, Sanjiv Mishra (35), was the nephew of Santosh Mishra, a Congress MLA from Kargahar constituency in Rohtas district. Sanjiv sustained four gunshot injuries on Saturday evening and succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital in nearby Mohania.

Eyewitnesses said that six unknown assailants rode three bikes to the house of Sanjiv Mishra located in Parsathua village and opened fire on him indiscriminately. The assailants fled from the spot without any resistance after committing the crime.

Sanjiv Mishra was expected to contest the panchayat elections and was preparing for it. He was one of the most active persons who recently campaigned for his uncle Santosh Mishra and was quite popular at the ground level.

The family members of Sanjiv Mishra suspect that it could be a political killing to prevent him from contesting the upcoming panchayat polls.

Mandeep Mishra, the brother of Sanjiv Mishra, said, "He did not have personal enmity with anybody. Investigation would reveal the actual reason behind the murder."

Vinod Kumar Rawat, Deputy Superintendent Of Police (DSP) of Kargahar range, said, "We are investigating the matter from all the angles and recording the statements of the eyewitnesses. We have received some clues about the accused and raids are on to nab them."