Former Bihar MLA Anant Singh, popularly known as Chhote Sarkar, who was seeking to reclaim his stronghold Mokama on a Janata Dal (United) ticket, was arrested in a late-night operation on Saturday in connection with the murder of Jan Suraaj supporter Dular Chand Yadav, officials said.
Known for his white clothes, and sunglasses, Anant Singh enjoys near-cult status on social media.
Singh was picked up from his house in Barh, around 200 km from Patna, along with two associates, Manikant Thakur and Ranjeet Ram who were allegedly present when the incident took place.
Yadav, a former gangster turned political supporter, died on Thursday while campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party candidate Piyush Priyadarshi in Mokama.
According to the post-mortem report, Yadav died of “cardiorespiratory failure due to shock caused by injury to the heart and lungs by a hard and blunt substance,” the Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) said. “A total of four FIRs, one pertaining to the violation of the model code of conduct, have been registered by the police to investigate the incident,” the SSP added.
Anant Singh was named in one of the FIRs.
His wife, Neelam Devi, currently represents Mokama in the Assembly for the RJD.
Sharing a video of himself being escorted by the cops on Facebook, Singh wrote, “Satyamev Jayate! I have complete faith in the people of Mokama!! That's why now the people of Mokama will fight this election!”
Mokama, less than 100 km from Patna, has been Anant Singh’s bastion for nearly two decades.
Singh made his Assembly debut in 2005, winning the seat on a JD(U) ticket. He retained it in 2010, but in 2015, when Nitish Kumar allied with Lalu Prasad Yadav, Singh quit the JD(U) and ran as an Independent, defeating the party’s candidate.
By 2020, Singh had joined the RJD, after Nitish and Lalu split again and won yet another term. His run came to a halt in 2022 when he was convicted in an arms case and disqualified from the Assembly.
His wife, Neelam Devi, then retained Mokama for the RJD in the by-election. This year, Singh switched sides again, returning to JD(U) to contest the upcoming polls.
Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar confirmed Singh’s arrest, saying, “Anant Singh was a named accused in the case which was registered from the side of the victim and he was present at the PO. Now whether he crossed the PO earlier or was near the PO, it is a point of investigation, but it's a collective responsibility — he was the leader of the team and under his leadership only the whole convoy was crossing. So prima facie whatever evidence has come to the fore, we have taken the decision to arrest him.”
The killing has triggered political outrage across the state as Bihar heads to polls on November 6 and 11, with counting scheduled for November 14.
Singh’s lawyer, Navin Kumar, claimed his client was being framed. “He has been falsely implicated. The extortion masterminds in Mokama saw their business disrupted because of Anant Babu’s growing influence, so they targeted him,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, Dular Chand Yadav’s grandson vowed not to perform the brahambhoj ritual, a post-death ceremony, until all accused are punished. “We are demanding that all five people involved in the killing of my grandfather must be arrested. My grandfather was killed by his opponents with the help of the administration... We will not proceed with the 'Brahambhoj' unless all five accused are arrested and sentenced to death,” he told PTI Video.
RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav said, “This was bound to happen, but PM Modi is coming today, and you can see there is 'maha jungle raaj' in Bihar. There isn't a single day when firing doesn't happen in Bihar. The Mahagathbandhan is going to form the government, and between 26th November and 26th January, criminals will be arrested, and strict action will be taken against them.”
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “It is not that the arrest has happened today, arrests have happened earlier too, bails were also granted, but those who were talking about jungle raj, it has come to light today that this is the real jungle raj where leaders are being shot in the middle of elections, the leaders themselves are getting it done. Today is the Prime Minister's road show, hence the arrest was made.”
Union minister Chirag Paswan however, defended the Nitish Kumar government’s move.
“If our government were protecting criminals, the action that took place last night would not have happened. Our government is very clear on one point — as CM Nitish Kumar Ji always says, we neither protect anyone nor falsely implicate anyone. This is part of a judicial process… whoever is found guilty will not be spared. The strictest possible action will be taken against every culprit.”