PATNA: Following the discovery of the body of a local BJP leader in the western Gopalganj district on Wednesday, four people were detained under suspicion and the victim’s brother accused a local JD(U) MLA of involvement.
Krishna Shahi, the state head of BJP’s traders’ cell, had gone missing from his home in Chainpur village under Hathua police station on Tuesday. After his body was found in a well in Manjha village, hundreds of his supporters created ruckus and attacked the home of a family they accused of killing him.
Police brought the situation under control and picked up four people, including one Aditya Rai and three women from his family. The four people were being interrogated, police said.
“He (Shahi) had gone to attend the post-death rituals of Aditya Rai’s father Lalbabu Rai on Tuesday evening. He did not return home and his mobile phone was switched off the whole night,” said Umesh Shahi, the victim’s brother and former mukhia (elected village head) of Chainpur panchayat.
“We have reasons to suspect the involvement of the MLA, Amarendra Kumar Pandey. Police investigation should take into account our concerns,” he added.
Pandey, the JD(U) legislator from Kuchaikot constituency in the district, has several criminal cases, including that of extortion, pending against him. Efforts to contact Pandey for a comment failed.
Sources said Shahi was allegedly killed by being beaten up and then his body was thrown into the well.
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi condemned the murder and attacked the Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance government for the worsening law and order situation in the state. “This death is a great loss to the party (BJP). Since the state government has little time to spend on governance issues, crime graph is continuously rising,” he said, demanding immediate arrest of Shahi’s killers.