A close aide of Bihar’s ruling JD(U) MLA and criminal-turned-politician Anant Singh and a Congress leader were shot dead by unidentified criminals in two separate attacks on Tuesday, beginning what many call a return of violence to political rivalries.
Jaleshwar Singh, a JD(U) leader, said to have been responsible for Anant Singh’s long political supremacy in his Assembly constituency of Mokama, was shot dead by gunmen when he was having a morning walk at Teraha Bazar in Barh town, near Patna. The gunmen fled as Jalesh-war Singh lay dead on the spot. The MLA, widely feared by the people for his muscle-flexing ways, then reached the spot and demanded immediate arrest of the killers.
This murder spread tension in and around Barh with fears suddenly rising about it giving birth to a possible full-fledged gang war in Mokama. The police named five people as accused in this case and began conducting raids for their arrest.
Congress leader and district board member Madhubala Singh and her husband Tinku Singh were shot at by three motorcycle-borne criminals at Pipra in the northern district of East Champaran district in the afternoon.