Two unrelated murders late on Tuesday night sparked fears about escalating gang-wars in the city and punched holes in the police claim of improved law and order.

Around 11pm, 25-year-old Vinay Singh, reportedly a member of Rockers, a biker gang, was shot dead by members of the rival Strikers group in the Boring Canal Road area under the jurisdiction of SK Puri police station. Singh, a resident of Motihari, lived at a private lodge in the Durji area.

He had come to attend a wedding at Boring Canal Road. After the party, he was walking back to his SUV parked near the Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir when five people caught him, pushed him into his car and shot him.

The wedding guests rushed him to a private hospital, where doctors declared he was "brought dead".

On Wednesday morning, residents of the area staged a protest against the lax security. Some of the protesters also damaged parked vehicles and vandalised shops.

One of the protesters said: "This is supposed to be an upscale area with frequent police patrolling. Policemen on duty can often be seen at the Boring Road roundabout and Rajapur Pul. But no arrests have been made yet." Manish Kumar, deputy superintendent of police, Sachivalaya, told The Telegraph that the murderers had been identified and would be arrested by Wednesday evening. The two gangs were formed recently. Criteria for admission to the gangs are that the members must be rich and they must have motorbikes. "They zoom around on bikes on the city streets, take drugs and also indulge in snatching and looting. A conflict over area supremacy seems to be the reason for the murder," Manish said.

No one, however, was arrested till this edition went to print on Wednesday night.

The bloodshed on Tuesday night continued with another murder. Around 12.30am, daily wage labourer Raju Rajak was shot dead at his home near Rajendra Pul under the jurisdiction of the Patrakar Nagar police station.

According to the FIR, two persons ' identified as Tinku Dom and Ravi Dom ' came to his home and called Rajak out. When he opened the door, Tinku shot him. An officer at Patrakar Nagar police station said: "Both the men have been arrested. Tinku was the one who posed at Rajak's relative and shot him. The motive for the murder is enmity."