Bihar: JD(U) candidate Anant Singh arrested over Jan Suraaj worker’s murder

In a dramatic late-night operation on Saturday, 1 November, Bihar Police arrested controversial strongman and JD(U) candidate Anant Singh in connection with the murder of Dular Chand Yadav, a supporter of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, in the politically volatile Mokama region of Patna district.

Singh — a multiple-term former MLA known as much for his political heft as his chequered past — was picked up from his sprawling residence in Barh, nearly 200 km from Patna, after a tense day of speculation surrounding his alleged role in the fatal clash. Alongside him, police also detained Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram, both of whom were reportedly present at the scene when Yadav was attacked.

Addressing a midnight press briefing, Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma and District Magistrate Thyagarajan S.M. confirmed the arrests, declaring that preliminary investigations and post-mortem findings pointed unmistakably to murder. “The report reveals that Yadav died of cardiorespiratory failure caused by shock due to injuries inflicted on his heart and lungs with a hard, blunt object,” Sharma said. “This clearly establishes a case of homicide.”

The killing has sent shockwaves through Mokama, where Yadav — a former gangster-turned-political worker — had been campaigning for Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi when he was fatally assaulted on Thursday. The confrontation reportedly erupted near the Bhadaur-Ghoswari police limits, an area long marred by rivalry between local strongmen and their loyal cadres.

Police sources said four FIRs have been registered in connection with the incident, including one citing violations of the Model Code of Conduct, as videos surfaced of Singh moving about in large cavalcades despite election restrictions. Singh himself had acknowledged a clash between his supporters and Yadav’s, but sought to deflect blame toward his old nemesis Suraj Bhan, another former don whose wife, Veena Devi, is contesting the seat on an RJD ticket.

The murder has cast a long shadow over the heated Mokama contest — a constituency that has for decades been defined by the muscle and might of men like Anant Singh and Suraj Bhan. Singh’s wife, Neelam Devi, currently represents the seat, and his attempt to reclaim it on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) ticket had already stirred controversy given his criminal antecedents.

In the wake of Yadav’s death, the Election Commission of India stepped in with swift administrative action, transferring Patna SP (Rural) Vikram Sihag and ordering disciplinary proceedings against three other officers. The commission directed the immediate replacement of the Barh SDO (also the returning officer for Mokama) and two sub-divisional police officers, even placing Abhishek Singh, SDPO Barh-2, under suspension for lapses in duty.

As Bihar braces for a high-stakes election — with voting in Mokama scheduled for 6 and 11 November, and counting on 14 November — the arrest of Anant Singh adds a dramatic twist to an already combustible campaign. The episode underscores not only the enduring nexus of crime and politics in Bihar’s heartland, but also the fragile calm that often precedes its most fiercely fought electoral battles.

With PTI inputs