Vinita Singh (left) at the CM’s darbar at Sandis grounds on Friday. Picture by Amit Kumar

Ghost of an old janata darbar complaint returned to haunt chief minister Nitish Kumar at his public meeting in Bhagalpur on Friday.

Vinita Singh, the widow of former general secretary of district Congress committee Dibesh Singh, turned up at Nitish’s janata darbar at the Sandis grounds. This was not her first visit to the public meetings of the chief minister though. Like previous occasions, this time too, she came to complain that her husband’s murders had not been brought to book.

“Sir, I came to your janata darbar in Bhagalpur in January 2007. On that occasion too you assured me that the murderers of my husband would be brought to book. They are still roaming around freely. The police have done nothing to help me,” said the 40-year-old mother of three.

Her husband was killed on July 27, 2006. According to police records, Dibesh was murdered because of rivalry in real estate business. The allegedly murderer, notorious gangster Pappu Khan, was killed in Patna in 2008.

Vinita told the chief minister: “Sir, a number of criminals were arrested and they told the police the name of the murder mastermind. But the police did not arrest anyone because some of them are workers of your party JD(U). At present, one is contesting for the post of the mayor, while another has won the seat of a ward councillor in the recently concluded municipal elections.”

In 2009, two criminals — Rana Miyan and Samar Singh — were arrested in connection with the murder. Though senior police officers refused to comment on the case, a source said: “The two suspects had told the police the name of the masterminds. But the CDs, on which the videos of their confessions were recorded, disappeared from Kotwali police station. Only the written transcript of their interrogation is available.”

Miyan and Singh are in jail at present. Nitish assured Vinita that law would punish the murderers of her husband. “I shall inquire into the matter and the criminals will be punished,” he said.

The chief minister directed senior police officers of the district present at the janata darbar to look into the matter.

Agriculture minister and Bhagalpur in-charge Narendra Singh, who was also present at the janata darbar, said: “I did not know about the allegations against our party worker. The woman will certainly get justice.”

Sources said Singh had on Thursday evening visited the house of the JD(U) member against whom Vinita complained to Nitish. Asked about his visit, the minister said: “An MLA of my party asked me to visit the house of a well-known worker. So I went there last evening (Thursday). I didn’t know about the allegations then.”