PATNA: The murder of RLSP leader Manish Kumar Sahni in Bihar’s Vaishali district last month was executed by contract killers who were paid Rs 5 lakh for the job, police said after the arrest of four criminals involved in the murder.
Illegal appointment of teachers in government schools in Vaishali district had led to Sahni’s murder at Jandaha on August 13, said Vaishali SP Manavjeet Singh Dhillon on Saturday. Former block pramukh Jai Shankar Sahni, who was defeated by Manish Sahni in a vote of confidence recently, had plotted the murder, he added.
“Jai Shankar, who has surrendered in court, had collected large sums of money from prospective teachers. As these people were putting pressure on him, he hatched a conspiracy to kill Manish,” said the SP.
A special investigation team (SIT) headed by Hajipur additional superintendent of police Ajay Kumar found that Rs 5 lakh was paid to the criminals to kill Manish Sahni. Sources said one of the four criminals arrested, Sanjeet Kumar Singh, is a close associate of former MP Anand Mohan, who is serving a life term for the murder of a district magistrate.
Violent protests had followed the murder in broad daylight at Jandaha on August 13. The protesters had attacked the local police station and set a part of it afire. One man was killed and seven others were injured when police opened fire on the protesters. RLSP chief and Union minister Upendra Kushwaha had attacked the state government over the decline in law and order.
While the local JD(U) legislator Umesh Singh Kushwaha was one of the ten people named accused in the case, the probe found no evidence against him, said police sources.
Manish Sahni was gunned down by two bike-borne assailants immediately after he came out of the BDO’s office at Jandaha, which is close to the police station. He received three bullets and lay there bleeding profusely. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but he died on the way.