Murder, politics, and a poll battle: JD(U)’s Anant Singh arrested over rival worker's murder

Yadav, a gangster-turned-politician and former RJD leader, was killed on Thursday while campaigning for his nephew Priyadarshi Piyush, a candidate from poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party.

The incident has sparked major political tremors in Mokama, a constituency long dominated by musclemen and shifting loyalties.

According to Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma, Anant Singh was arrested from his residence in Barh along with two others- Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram- both of whom were allegedly present during the clash that led to Yadav’s death.

“Police have arrested three persons-Anant Singh, Manikant Thakur, and Ranjeet Ram — in connection with the murder of Dular Chand Yadav,” Sharma said at a late-night press conference, accompanied by Patna District Magistrate Thyagarajan S.M.

A post-mortem report cited by police indicates that Yadav died from cardiorespiratory failure caused by injuries to the heart and lungs inflicted by a hard, blunt object, confirming it as a case of homicide.

Anant Singh, the JD(U) nominee from Mokama and husband of sitting MLA Neelam Devi, has denied any involvement in the killing. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he claimed he was “far away” from the scene when the violence broke out.

“I do not know what exactly happened, but some of my people complained that Yadav’s men vandalised their vehicles,” Singh said.

“This is the handiwork of Suraj Bhan (husband of RJD’s Veena Devi). He orchestrated the killing to malign me,” he alleged.

In the 2020 assembly polls, Singh had won Mokama as an RJD candidate but was disqualified in 2022 following his conviction under the Arms Act.

His wife, Neelam Devi, later won the bypoll on an RJD ticket. Singh has since shifted allegiance to JD(U), returning to Nitish Kumar’s camp ahead of the 2025 elections.

Following the murder, the Election Commission transferred Patna SP (Rural) Vikram Sihag on Saturday and ordered the replacement of three officials: the Barh sub-divisional officer, who also serves as Mokama’s returning officer, and two sub-divisional police officers (Barh-1 and Barh-2).

It also directed that SDPO Abhishek Singh (Barh-2) be placed under suspension and disciplinary proceedings initiated against all three officers for lapses.

The murder has turned Mokama, already one of Bihar’s most politically charged constituencies, into a flashpoint just days before voting.

Bihar will go to the polls in two phases, on November 6 and 11, with results on November 14.

With a history of rival gang affiliations and political crossovers, the constituency is once again at the center of Bihar’s uneasy intersection of crime, politics, and power.