Bihar: JD(U) candidate Anant Singh, 2 others held for Dularchand Yadav’s murder

Controversial former Bihar MLA Anant Singh, who seeks to reclaim the Mokama seat on a ticket of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), was arrested in a late-night operation on Saturday (November 1) in connection with the murder of Jan Suraaj supporter Dularchand Yadav.

Singh, who had been under the scanner since the killing of Yadav, who recently clashed with his sympathisers, was nabbed from his house in Barh, about 200 km from Patna.

Police also arrested two other persons, Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram, who were also present when the incident took place. All three will soon be produced before a magistrate.

Yadav died while he was campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party’s candidate Piyush Priyadarshi in Patna’s Mokama on Thursday. The incident took place close to the Bhadaur and Ghoswari police stations in the Mokama area.

Trio present at time of incident

Addressing a late-night joint press conference with Patna District Magistrate Thyagarajan S M, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) (Patna) Kartikeya Sharma said, “Police have arrested three persons — Anant Singh, Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram — in connection with the murder of Dularchand Yadav.”

According to Yadav’s post-mortem report, he died of cardiorespiratory failure due to shock caused by injury to the heart and lungs by a hard and blunt substance, the SSP said.

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“Therefore, the post-mortem report and preliminary investigation suggest that it’s a case of murder,” he said.

Investigations also revealed that all three were present at the time of the incident, Sharma said.

“They have been arrested as part of a police investigation into the murder case of Yadav. A total of four FIRs, one pertaining to the violation of the model code of conduct, have been registered by the police to investigate the incident,” the SSP said, adding that Singh was named in one of the FIRs.

Anant Singh also booked for MCC violation

The multiple-term former MLA, whose wife Neelam Devi currently represents the Mokama seat, has also been booked for model code of conduct violation as instances of his moving about in large cavalcades have come to the fore.

When asked about the killing of Yadav, Singh had admitted to a clash between his supporters and the deceased, but also sought to put the blame on Suraj Bhan, his old rival in the underworld and local politics, whose wife Veena Devi is contesting the seat on an RJD ticket.

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Yadav, a dreaded gangster of the 1990s known to be at odds with Anant Singh, was supporting Priyadarshi Piyush, a political greenhorn fielded by Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party.

Action against SP, SDO, SDPOs

In a related development, the Election Commission on Saturday ordered the transfer of Patna SP (Rural) and action against three other officials, taking a stern view of violence in Mokama, involving the killing of Yadav.

“The Commission directed that Vikram Sihag, Superintendent of Police (Rural), Patna, may also be transferred. Hence, a panel of officers for posting a substitute in his place may be sent urgently,” the poll authority told the state chief electoral officer on Saturday.

It ordered the appointment of new officials to replace the sub-divisional officer of Barh, who is also the returning officer of Mokama assembly seat, sub-divisional police officer Barh-1, and sub-divisional police officer Barh-2.

While ordering disciplinary proceedings against the three, it also directed that Abhishek Singh, the sub-divisional police officer of Barh-2, be placed under suspension.

Bihar goes to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, while votes will be counted on November 14.

(With agency inputs)