AURANGABAD/GAYA JI, May 30 -- Seven people, including a government school teacher, died after being struck by lightning in Bihar in the past 24 hours. Three deaths were reported from Gaya Ji, two from Aurangabad and one each from Saran and Khagaria, officials said on Friday. Chief minister Samrat Choudhary expressed his condolences and directed the disaster management department to provide an ex-gratia grant of Rs.4 lakh each to the victim's families. "My deepest condolences are with the bereaved families. May god grant peace to the departed souls and provide strength to the families during this difficult time," he said in a post on X. Choudhary also appealed to the public to take precautions, "I appeal to everyone to exercise utmost caution during bad weather. Follow the guidelines issued from time to time by the disaster management department for protection against lightning strikes. Stay indoors as much as possible during bad weather and remain safe." In Aurangabad, Sunil Kumar Singh, 43, a resident of Pandey Karma village and a teacher at a primary school in Bekhanpura of Rafiganj block area, set out for the school braving heavy storms and rains in the morning. A bolt of lightning struck Singh just as he reached the school campus. He was rushed to a local hospital by fellow teachers but Singh was declared dead. In the second incident, farmer Kedar Yadav, 55, was killed in a lightning strike at Keshradi village under Daudnagar police station limits. He had stepped out of home for a morning walk, SHO Vikas Kumar said. In Gaya Ji, Dinesh Yadav, 32, was killed by a lightning strike while grazing his buffaloes in the fields at Sunchak village under Bhadwar police station area of the district. In Bhojpur district, four people were injured in a lightning strike and a thatched house caught fire during heavy thunderstorm and rain in Chauri village, under the same police station area. In East Champaran, Manoj Singh, a farmer, died after a banyan tree uprooted and crashed on him due to the impact of rain which was followed by a storm near Siswa railway line under Paharpur police station area of the district. . "The incident took place when he was on his way to his home from his agricultural land while carrying maize cobs on a motorcycle. His body has been sent for post-mortem," said Amit Kumar, sub-inspector at Paharpur police station. As per an IMD bulletin, during the past 24 hours, very heavy rainfall was recorded at one or two places in the northwestern region, while heavy rainfall was recorded at a few other locations. Light to moderate rainfall was recorded at some places in the southwestern, south-central, north-central, and southeastern parts of the state, while the weather remained dry in rest of the state....