Bihar Police have arrested 80 people, including JD(U) candidate Anant Singh, over Dular Chand Yadav’s murder.
Yadav was killed while campaigning for Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi in Mokama, Patna.
Heavy security has been deployed in the area as investigations and arrests continue.
Bihar Police have arrested 80 people, including JD(U)’s Mokama candidate Anant Singh, in connection with the killing of Jan Suraaj Party supporter Dular Chand Yadav, PTI reported.
Singh and two associates, Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram, were taken into custody in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday and later remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a Patna court.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Patna, Kartikeya Sharma told PTI, “We have so far registered five FIRs and arrested 80 people, including Singh, in connection with Yadav's murder and other related incidents. More arrests are expected as investigations into the FIRs are on.”
Yadav died on Thursday while campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party's candidate Piyush Priyadarshi in Patna's Mokama area. According to Yadav's post-mortem examination report, he died of cardiorespiratory failure due to shock caused by injury to the heart and lungs by a hard and blunt substance, the SSP said.
“The post-mortem examination report and preliminary investigation suggest this is a case of murder,” Sharma added.
Police have stepped up security in the poll-bound Mokama area. “A large number of security personnel has been deployed in Mokama area. While 13 companies of Central Armed Police Force are camping in the area, two units of Special Task Force (STF) and four Quick Response Teams (QRTs) of Patna Police have also been deployed”, the SSP said.
Singh was picked up from his house in Barh, around 200 kilometres from Bihar capital Patna.
Earlier, DGP Vinay Kumar said, “Strict action will be taken against those who violate the election model code of conduct. People who take the law into their own hands will not be spared.”
Reacting to Singh’s arrest, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “It was expected… it should have been done earlier. This is the 'jungle raaj' in Bihar, where murders are happening like anything. Recently, a father-son duo were killed in Ara.”
(With inputs from PTI)
