A ruling JD(U) legislator in Bihar notorious for often being on the wrong side of the law is facing allegations of getting a man killed and then harassing his widow to capture her house. A shocked chief minister Nitish Kumar has promised her help, but more ruling party politicians are being spotted on the wrong foot.
Less than two months after controversial MLA Sunil Pandey brought embarrassment for Mr Kumar’s coalition government by allegedly demanding `1 crore as extortion money from a construction company head, he found himself embroiled in serious charges levelled by a widow from Dehri-on-Sone, Ranjita Devi. The woman in her mid-30s told Mr Kumar at his weekly janata durbar on Monday that Pandey not only got her husband, Dharmendra Kumar, killed but had captured her house through his men.
Forcibly rendered homeless, Devi said she was currently living with her sister-in-law and urged Mr Kumar to help her in getting back her house. The MLA has been threatening her with dire consequences if she complained to the police or insisted on getting the house back, she alleged. But Pandey, the MLA from Tarari whose real name is Narendra Singh, rubbished the charges when asked, saying Devi’s husband was associated with criminals who might have killed him and that he (MLA) bought the house and the land lawfully.
Notwithstanding Pandey’s claims, Mr Kumar ordered a probe. In December 2010, an FIR was registered against the bahubali (muscle-powered) Pandey and his MLC brother Hulas Pandey in Sasaram for allegedly forcibly entering the house of Dayanidhi Singh, owner of Sibitech Construction Private Limited, and demanding `1 crore. Deputy chief minister Sushilkumar Modi faced the Opposition’s allegations of shielding his kin Mahesh Modi who was accused of trying to grab part of a house owned by the family of Hindi poet Dinkar in Patna.
The late poet’s daughter-in-law, Hemant Devi, met the chief minister at his janata durbar last week and lodged a complaint with the Patna City SP. She is yet to get back possession of the property.