PATNA: The Bihar Police’s Special Task Force (STF) on Sunday arrested notorious gangster Raees Khan and three of his associates during raids at their hideouts in Siwan. A cache of illegal arms, including 47 live cartridges for AK-47 assault rifles, was seized during the five-hour-long operation.
Raees Khan’s arrest, just ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, is expected to stir political controversy, as he is an active member of Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). Khan had formally joined the LJP (RV) on 15 January at an event in Siwan’s Sahuli village, where Paswan himself arrived by helicopter.
Nilesh Kumar, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Saran Range, confirmed the arrests of Raees Khan and his associates, Munna Mian and Aftab Alam. A fourth individual was also detained, whose identity is still being verified.
According to DIG Kumar, 47 live cartridges of AK-47 rifles and other sophisticated firearms were recovered during the raid. He added that Raees Khan has 43 criminal cases registered against him, while Aftab and Munna are facing six and three cases respectively.
The DIG, who personally oversaw the operation, stated that one of the weapons recovered is believed to have been looted from a policeman who was killed in 2023. “We are currently verifying this, as the interrogation of the arrested individuals is ongoing,” he said.
Sources within the police revealed that constable Valmiki Yadav was killed during a gun battle in Siwan last year. Several weapons were reportedly looted from police personnel during that incident, and some of those may be among the arms recovered in Sunday’s raid.
Raees Khan and his brother Ayub Khan, commonly referred to as the ‘Khan brothers’, have long been regarded as rivals of the late RJD MP from Siwan, Mohammad Shahabuddin. Initially close allies of Shahabuddin, the Khan brothers later broke away to form their own criminal network.
Ayub Khan is accused of involvement in the 2022 murders of Vishal Singh, Pramod Singh, and Anshu Singh in Siwan. Raees Khan had previously filed a bail petition in the Patna High Court, claiming he was a witness in one of the cases. However, the petition was rejected, and he later surrendered in court before being granted bail.
Police sources expressed concern that the Khan brothers’ presence in Siwan could disrupt the upcoming elections. “The raid was based on a tip-off suggesting that a large cache of weapons had been stockpiled in preparation for the elections,” said one investigating officer.
One of the Khan brothers was reportedly planning to contest the assembly election from Raghunathpur constituency in Siwan. Meanwhile, Osama Sahab, son of Mohammad Shahabuddin, is also expected to contest, either from Raghunathpur or Siwan Town.
Raees Khan’s high-profile entry into the LJP (RV) was marked by a visit from Chirag Paswan himself, who flew to Siwan on 15 January to oversee the induction.