A ruling JD(U) MLA in Bihar caused embarrassment to the state government for the second time in three months when he was booked on Sunday as the main accused for the brutal murder of a liquor trader, prompting the Opposition parties to heighten their attacks on the government.
The police in Gopalganj district named Amarendra Kumar Pandey, alias Pappu Pandey, the controversial MLA from Kuchaikot, and his father and brother-in-law as the accused for the murder on Saturday of liquor vendor Anil Singh near Hathua market. Unidentified gunmen fired on Singh, killing him on the spot, and fled. The FIR was lodged after a massive public demonstration and road blockade demanding the MLA’s arrest.
Natasha Gudia, SP of the western district, said the exact causes behind the murder were being investigated. But the slain trader’s family said the JD(U) legislator had been threatening to have him killed following their disagreements. Former district board chairperson, Urmila Pandey, was also named as another accused in Singh’s murder.
The MLA, yet to be arrested or interrogated, denied the charges. “I have full faith in the police and the administration. The charges are a conspiracy against me. I am ready to face them if there is any evidence of my involvement,” said an unfazed Pandey.
In March, a former government official’s wife had accused the MLA of masterminding her husband’s abduction and releasing him only after receiving a ransom of `55 lakh. Nishat Akhtar, the wife of former IIS officer Javed Akhtar, claimed Pandey abducted him on March 4 and had him released on March 7. But despite these sensational charges, there was no legal action initiated against the MLA.
Bihar’s Opposition parties dared chief minister Nitish Kumar to begin action against Pandey by first getting him arrested. “Can the chief minister now order this MLA’s arrest to show his government’s claims of rule of law are real?” asked RJD MP Ramkripal Yadav.
LJP chief and MP Ram Vilas Paswan said: “Nitish Kumar’s false claims of good governance are getting exposed too frequently. We demand action against this MLA.”