Bihar Police have arrested 80 people, including JD(U)’s Mokama candidate Anant Singh, in connection with the murder of Jan Suraaj Party supporter Dular Chand Yadav, a senior officer said on Sunday.
Singh, along with associates Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram, was taken into custody during the night between Saturday and Sunday. A Patna court has remanded all three to 14-day judicial custody.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna, Kartikeya Sharma told PTI, “Five FIRs have been registered so far, and 80 arrests, including that of Singh, have been made in connection with Yadav’s murder and related incidents. Further arrests are expected as investigations continue.”
Yadav was killed while campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party candidate Piyush Priyadarshi in Patna’s Mokama area on Thursday. The post-mortem report indicated cardiorespiratory failure due to shock from injury to the heart and lungs caused by a hard, blunt object, confirming it as a case of murder, the SSP said.
Authorities are closely monitoring poll candidates in Mokama. “Thirteen companies of the Central Armed Police Force, two units of Special Task Force (STF), and four Quick Response Teams (QRTs) of Patna Police have been deployed in the area,” Sharma added.
Singh was arrested from his residence in Barh, about 200 km from Patna. DGP Vinay Kumar warned that strict action will be taken against anyone violating the election model code of conduct, emphasizing that lawbreakers will not be spared.
Reacting to the arrest, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “It was expected and should have happened earlier. This is ‘jungle raaj’ in Bihar, where murders are happening frequently. Recently, a father-son duo were killed in Ara.”
(PTI)
