JD(U) candidate Anant Singh, 2 aides held over death of Jan Suraaj campaigner in Bihar
Patna district magistrate, and senior superintendent of police held a joint press conference at 3 am on Sunday to announce the arrest of former MLA Anant Singh, Manikant Thakur and Ranjit Ram
Patna: The Bihar Police arrested Janata Dal (United) assembly candidate from Mokama, Anant Singh, along with his two aides from Bedna village on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday in connection with the death of Dularchand Yadav, a campaigner for Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi.
Patna District Magistrate (DM) Thiyagrajan S.M. and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikey Sharma held a joint press conference at 3 am on Sunday to announce the arrest of former MLA Anant Singh along with his two aides, Manikant Thakur and Ranjit Ram.
The development came hours after the Election Commission of India (ECI) removed the Barh Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) and Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO).
According to police officers, Singh was taken into custody following a police operation involving around 150 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel at Singh’s hideouts in the Barh and Mokama areas of rural Patna late on Saturday night. He was brought to Patna for interrogation.
“On October 30, there was a clash between two groups of competing candidates. Stones were pelted, resulting in injuries. Dularchand Yadav’s body was recovered after the incident. Both sides registered cases, and police started investigating the case,” the SSP said.
The SSP said that based on evidence, eyewitness accounts, and the postmortem report of the deceased, “it appears that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was violated, and it is a serious issue. It was found that all this happened in the presence of the candidate, Anant Singh, who is also the main accused in the case. All three will be presented before the Barh court, and due investigation will follow.”
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“The deceased had a gunshot injury in his leg. As per the post-mortem report, he was murdered. The bullet has not been recovered because the post-mortem report showed there was an entry wound and an exit wound,” the SSP added.
Patna DM said the incident was taken “very seriously,” and the MCC will be enforced strictly.
Dularchand was campaigning for Jan Suraaj’s Priyadarshi when a violent clash erupted in the Mokama Tal area on Thursday afternoon, leading to his death. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the deceased’s grandson, Neeraj Kumar, who named Singh, his nephews Karamveer and Ranveer, and two others as accused.
Reacting to the arrest, Priyadarshi said, “On Friday, Anant was moving around in a convoy of 50 vehicles and even participated in election campaigning. When an FIR was registered against him, he should have been arrested sooner. But better late than never. What is important now is how the police investigate the whole case. It is a relief for his family.”
Meanwhile, the ECI ordered the replacement of the Patna Rural SP and initiated disciplinary proceedings against three officials for lapses.
