PATNA: A close aide of muscleman and former RJD MLA Anant Singh was shot dead in broad daylight in Patna on Wednesday, intensifying tension in the Mokama area ahead of the Assembly bypoll. Dheeraj Singh, 42, a resident of Deoli in the Nalanda district, was killed by unidentified armed criminals at Patliputra Colony when he was travelling in a car. The assailants fired at least 12 bullets at his car. Singh, a former mukhiya, later succumbed to injuries.
Police said Singh, better known as Lalji, was seeking votes for Anant Singh’s wife Neelam Devi who is contesting on an RJD ticket. The elections will be held on November 3. It is believed that Dheeraj was killed in retaliation for the murder of another muscleman, Fantu Singh. Fantu was close to another don of Mokama, Viveka Pehalwan, who had an old rivalry with Anant Singh. Both Anant and Viveka had buried the hatchet recently.
“The rivalry between Anant and Lalan Singh (husband of BJP nominee Sonam Devi) is a known secret,” Jaiprakash Singh, a local resident, said. Authorities have intensified patrolling in the constituency. “We are keeping a watch on the activities of people with shady past,” a police officer said.