The murder of two engineers of a private road construction company in Darbhanga on Saturday is a manifestation of a suspected criminal-politician nexus.
This came to the fore following the arrest of Pintu Laldeo, one of the key alleged conspirators of the double murder case. Pintu, according to preliminary police investigation, had provided information about the activities of slain engineers Brajesh Singh (30) and Mukesh Kumar (45) to the assailants on the fateful day.
Pintu is a relative of Baheri block pramukh Munni Devi, who is the sister of notorious gangster Santosh Jha, who at present is lodged in Gaya Central Jail. Jha is suspected to have plotted the murder the two engineers for the failure of their company to cough up Rs 1 crore as extortion money to the gang.
Deputy inspector-general (Darbhanga range) Umashankar Sudhanshu said Pintu was arrested from his residence in Shivram village in Darbhanga district on the basis of evidence. He was closely associated with the two sharpshooters of the Santosh Jha gang - Mukesh Pathak and Vikas Jha - who allegedly carried out the daylight murders.
The DIG revealed that the two assailants had been seen at the residence of Baheri block pramukh Munni Devi two days before the incident.
He admitted that Pintu was earlier associated with the Naxalite outfit operating in the region. Munni Devi's husband, Sanjay Laldeo, also had close links with the banned Maoist outfit but he surrendered before the police a few years ago to join the mainstream. "The role of Pintu in the double murder case is confirmed," the DIG asserted.
Though raids were conducted at suspected hideouts of Pathak and Jha (Vikas) in Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi, they could not be arrested.
"Since the gang has been identified, the assailants would be nabbed soon," the DIG said, adding that Mukesh took the command of the inter-district gang after the arrest of Santosh from Calcutta last year.
A senior home department officer said Santosh Jha, a native of Purhahiya village in Sheohar district, has spread his network in nine districts of north Bihar - Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, West Champaran, East Champaran, Samastipur, Madhubani and Gopalganj.
Jha was arrested by a team of the special task force (STF) from Patna in 2004 but was later released on bail only to indulge in collection of levy (extortion) from businessmen, contractors and doctors.
In the past one-and-a-half decade, Santosh Jha, a Maoist-turned-gangster, is learnt to have amassed property worth several crores through extortion business.
STF superintendent of police (SP) Shivdeep Lande said Santosh Jha was part of a crime syndicate active in the bordering districts of Nepal. "Those involved in the killings are professional ones. They decided to carry out the attack on Saturday under a well-planned strategy. Since offices of the cellular companies remained closed on Saturday and Sunday, the police would not be able to obtain the call detail record of their cellphones, providing them enough time to flee," said Lande.
He did not rule out the possibility of the assailants sneaking into Nepal. The SIT had been tipped off that the assailants reached Jhanjharpur in Madhubani from where they crossed over to Nepal.
On the role of Baheri block pramukh Munni Devi, Darbhanga senior SP A.K. Satyarthi said the police have so far not been able to gather evidence to corroborate the charge. "At the same time, it's true that her husband is a former Maoist leader and still has his connections with members of the group," he told reporters at a press conference in Darbhanga on the sidelines of the arrest of Pintu in the case.
The SSP claimed that Pintu identified the photograph of Mukesh Pathak pasted on the pamphlet recovered from the site of occurrence. An FIR was lodged against Pintu and Mukesh Pathak and Vikas Jha. While Mukesh and Vikas were absconding, Pintu was arrested on Monday. The police would produce him in the court after thorough interrogation, he added.
Meanwhile, additional director-general of police (DGP) (headquarters) Sunil Kumar has directed all the SPs to provide security to the personnel of the companies, which were engaged in carrying out developmental work in their respective districts. The DGP has also asked them to discuss the security-related issues with the representatives of the companies concerned and send reports to the police headquarters by December 31.
A senior official of BSc & CC Constructions Limited spoke to the principal road construction secretary Sudhir Kumar on Monday and demanded security for its employees engaged in road construction work in the state.
Additional reporting by Joy Sengupta in Patna and Sanjay K. Mishra in Darbhanga
