PATNA: Criminal-turned-politician and sitting MLA Anant Singh was on Tuesday booked for masterminding a murder by shooting in a running train, prompting both RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his younger son Tejaswi Yadav hitting out at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for “giving protection” to Singh.
Anant Singh, the independent MLA from Mokama known in the area as “Choote Sarkar” for his muscle-flexing manners and criminal record, was named as an accused in the FIR lodged by the victim’s widow, Nikki Devi. Singh, however, denied the charge and dubbed it as a conspiracy to malign his image before the elections. He also demanded a CBI probe into the murder.
Devi’s husband, Ramjanm Yadav, was shot dead on the Patna-Hatia (Ranchi) Pataliputra Express train when it stopped at Athmalgola station on Sunday evening. Devi, who is also the mukhia (elected village head) of Lemuabad, was accompanying her husband along with his younger brother, Lalan Kumar, in the train. According to police, Ramjanm Yadav had a criminal record.
“Ranvir Yadav shot my husband dead when he came to the door of the coach to spit out khaini. There were three other men with Ranvir. MLA Anant Singh had publicly named my husband as one of his enemies,” said Devi. “It (murder) was ordered by Anant Singh,” said Lalan Kumar.
Jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, speaking to journalists after his appearance in a court in Ranchi, said: “It is well known that Anant Singh is Nitish Kumar’s chhote sahib. So Nitish will answer… I know how clean Anan Singh is… He had also got another Yadav man killed earlier”.
“Anant Singh is now out of jail because he has Nitish Kumar’s protection,” said Lalu’s son and Bihar Opposition leader Tejaswi Yadav. “He (Singh) is a notorious criminal who has committed murders, abductions and also beaten up reporters. Lalu had put him in jail, but Nitish Kumar brought him out,” he added.
The ruling JD(U) and BJP dismissed the RJD leaders’ allegations. “A probe is being conducted, but the father-son duo is trying to influence the probe by shooting from their mouths. They are forgetting the reign of criminals during RJD rule,” said JD(U) spokesperson Dr Sunil Kumar Singh.
Anant Singh, a three-term MLA who quit JD(U) in 2015, had in November last accused an IG of police of providing sophisticated arms to his “enemies such as Viveka Pehelwan, Bhola Singh and Ramjanm Yadav”.
“This woman who has levelled the allegations does not even know me. There were so many people in the train. So how come nobody else but she could identify the man who she says fired?” asked the MLA.
Bihar’s ADG (rail) Alok Raj said an SIT headed by DSP (rail) Bhagwan Prasad Gupta is investigating the murder.