A Darbhanga court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against Baheri block chief Munni Devi and her husband for allegedly giving shelter to the assailants involved in the engineers' murder that has rocked the state.
Munni and her husband Sanjay Laldeo have been accused of providing shelter to the four sharpshooters at their Bahadurpur Housing Colony residence in Darbhanga town, around 150km northeast of Patna.
The couple are absconding since last weekend around the time when senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ajit Kumar Satyarthi had revealed the evidence collected against the duo.
Satyarthi said: "The involvement of both the block pramukh and her husband had been established after a thorough probe into the murder of engineers Mukesh Kumar and Brajesh Kumar, residents of Begusarai and Rohtas respectively. The police prayed the court for issuance of warrants against both of them so that their arrest could be ensured. The police have gathered sufficient evidence to corroborate the allegations against them."
Four men riding two motorbikes attacked the engineers on December 26 while they were inspecting road construction work near Shivram village under the jurisdiction of Baheri police station, around 32km from Darbhanga town and 160km northeast of Patna, before speeding away.
The special investigation team (SIT), comprising special task force officers and the district police, later identified the four assailants as Mukesh Pathak, Vikas Jha, Nikesh Dubey and Akhilesh Jha. While the four killers are absconding, the SIT nabbed six members of the gang headed by Santosh Jha that is believed to be behind the murders.
Santosh is Munni Devi's brother. Elected the Baheri block pramukh in 2011, Munni is considered close to JDU leader Sanjay Jha who unsuccessfully contested the 2014 general election from Darbhanga.
In the early days of investigation, SSP Satyarthi had absolved Munni of responsibility in the twin murders. An investigating officer on the condition of anonymity said Munni was questioned by a police team but was released on Satyarthi's intervention.
Later, two of Santosh's gang members - Rishi Jha and Sumit Mishra - nabbed from Sitamarhi told the interrogators that the four killers had taken shelter at Munni's Darbhanga residence on December 25, a day before the murders.
Munni had also met Santosh at Gaya central jail before the attack, a member of the SIT said.
The SIT, headed by superintendent of police (special task force), Shivdeep Lande interrogated Anchal and Tunna Jha, members of the Santosh Jha gang, over the twin murders. The duo, caught from Sheohar and subsequently lodged in Sheohar divisional jail, were taken in to police remand for interrogation. They allegedly confessed to the police that Munni's husband Laldeo was present at the crime spot in an SUV at the time of the engineers' murder.
The investigation team suspects the killers might have fled to Nepal. "We are in touch with the Nepal police. Intensive combing operations have been launched in the districts bordering Nepal," said S.M. Khopde, inspector-general (operations).
