Bhagalpur chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Tribhuvan Yadav has ordered to issue summons against JDU leader and municipal corporation mayor Dipu Bhuwaniya in a three-year-old murder case of Om Baba, a priest at Devi Babu Dharamshala in the heart of the town.

The police had suspected Bhuwaniya and seven others for the murder and grabbing the dharamshala land. Earlier, the court had taken cognisance against Bhuwaniya and seven others but the accused filed a criminal revision in the court of additional district judge(ADJ)-III, Bhagalpur.

On October 2015, the court of ADJ-III directed the lower court that is the court of the CJM, Bhagalpur, to issue a fresh order in this direction which finally resulted in the issuing of summons to Bhuwaniya. According to Rajesh Kumar Tiwary and Dinesh Kumar Singh, advocates who helped the prosecution side, on the night of June 21, 2013, the priest was killed inside his room on the premises of the dharamshala.

"There were rumours of a conspiracy. The autopsy report later confirmed it to be murder," Tiwary said.

Singh said initially police chargesheeted three persons in the case but in the supervision report of the then superintendent of police, Rajesh Kumar, Bhuwaniya and seven others were acquitted in 2014.

However senior officers like inspector-general of police, Bhagalpur range, during supervision of the case, asked their subordinates to include the name of Bhuwaniya in the final chargesheet. The supporters of the slain priest registered a protest petition in the court in which the court had to take cognisance against Bhuwania and others.

Singh further alleged that the accused persons wanted to exploit the dharamshala land for market and other business establishments. "Om Baba who had been living at the dharamshala for over 40 years. His protest against the move of the accused resulted in his murder," he alleged.

Bhuwaniya's name was first dragged in the murder of Congress leader Dibesh Singh in 2006. Besides, he was declared an absconder by a local court in a case related to the Labour and Transport Act in 1987.

"Bhuwaniya went absconding after the court sentenced him a month's imprisonment. Since then, he remains an absconder. Only officials concerned know why the arrest warrant was not executed," alleged Singh.

According to Singh, all the documents related to the case went missing from the record rooms of the civil court. "I had appealed to the court for reconstruction of the case. However departmental proceeding against five employees in the civil court for missing records have started in which I gave witness," he said.

"I have complained to the President of India to and other people concerned to take action against Bhuwaniya who managed to contest the municipal polls in 2012 after concealing facts. Even records of his municipal polls are missing here," Singh further alleged.