Patna: The Bihar Police late Saturday arrested strongman Anant Kumar Singh, Mokama candidate of the ruling Janata Dal (United), in reference to Thursday’s violence that led to the homicide of Jan Suraaj supporter Dular Chand Yadav.

This comes simply days earlier than Bihar elections are set to start.

On Thursday afternoon, a conflict was reported between supporters of Jan Suraaj celebration and the JD(U) in Tartar village, throughout the limits of Ghoswari police station in Mokama. The violence resulted within the killing of Yadav, mentioned to be one other native strongman, whereas a number of others have been reported injured.

The Bihar Police have to date arrested greater than 60 folks as a part of the probe into six FIRs registered following the violence in Mokama.

The conflict led to stern criticism from the Election Fee of India in addition to the opposition towards the Nitish Kumar-led authorities in Bihar, and has weakened the NDA’s ballot narrative concerning the return of “jungle raj” within the state if the rival RJD returned to energy on this month’s meeting election.

Addressing a press convention post-midnight, SSP Sharma mentioned that Anant Singh has been named because the prime suspect within the case, alongside along with his two shut aides, Manjit Thakur and Ranjit Ram, who have been additionally arrested Saturday.

“A confrontation ensued and stones have been pelted between the 2 sides close to Tartar village on Thursday. Police visited the scene, collected proof, together with footage from the world, in addition to statements from witnesses. Investigation prima facie reveals that the 2 convoys got here nose to nose, an altercation broke out, adopted by stone-pelting and bodily assault,” he mentioned.

“Anant Singh was on the spot together with a number of of his aides, together with the duo arrested to date,” he added. 

Based on the SSP, the postmortem report of Yadav confirmed loss of life as a consequence of shock and trauma to important organs resembling the guts and lungs. Nonetheless, he mentioned probe into who fired a gun and who was driving the automobile that allegedly hit Yadav continues to be underneath method.

Singh, who faces greater than 50 circumstances starting from abduction and extortion to homicide, received the Mokama constituency 5 instances between 2005 and 2020, whereas his spouse Nilam Devi is the incumbent MLA who contested the bypoll after his conviction in an arms restoration case in 2022.

Singh has been arrested a minimum of twice earlier than. He was arrested by the police in 2015 in reference to the homicide case of three youth however was launched on bail and received the Mokama meeting election that yr as an impartial candidate. Equally, he was arrested by the Patna police in 2019 in a matter of restoration of an AK-47 and grenades from his ancestral home in Mokama. He was convicted within the case however acquitted in August final yr.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

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