PATNA: The police in Bihar's Purnia district on Friday announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on the head of the state Food and Consumer Protection Minister Leshi Singh's nephew Ashish Kumar Singh in connection with a murder case.
The minister Lesi Singh, however, denied that she had any connection with the accused Ashish alias Athiya, whose name figured in the killing of former district board councillor of Dhamdaha, Vishwajeet Singh.
Purnia SP Daya Shankar said a cash reward of Rs 50,000 was announced on the head of Ashish, who was on the run since November 112021. “Ashish is a notorious criminal and wanted in the connection with the Rintu Singh murder case,” he added.
Rintu was gunned down by armed criminals in the Sarsi police station area on November 11, 2021. The deceased's wife, Anulika Singh, a former district board member, later accused Ashish and his associates of killing her husband.
The SP said, “We have pressed our technical cell into service to trace the elusive murder case accused. Besides, search teams have been dispatched to different districts of Bihar and in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to trace him.”
On Thursday, Rintu's close associate Neeraj Jha was killed by unidentified assailants near the K-Haat police station in Purnia. The deceased's family members apprehended the involvement of the killers of Rintu Singh in Jha's murder.