Patna, March 15: A series of murders of BJP members - the latest being that of an activist on Saturday night - has shaken Siwan, reviving memories of dark days in the past.
The murder of Prithvi Nath Singh (50) at Ramgarh Garauli village is fallout of a series of murders of party workers in the district, once an epicentre of crime in Bihar. Darauda saw protests against the murder on Sunday.
Prithvi was riddled with bullets while sleeping at his outhouse on Saturday night. Hearing the gunshots, his relatives arrived at the spot and rushed him to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.
A case was lodged today with the Darauda police station. Darauda police station house officer (SHO) Radheshyam said the reason behind Prithvi's murder could not be immediately known. "The police will question his family members soon. They are in deep shock," he said.
The murder took place within two weeks of an FIR being lodged by Satyam Bharatiya, son of slain BJP leader Srikant Bharatiya, apprehending a threat to his life. Srikant, political spokesperson of Siwan's BJP MP Om Prakash Yadav, was attacked when he was returning home on a motorbike from a wedding in Siwan town, around 145km northwest of Patna, last November.
Nearly three months after his father's murder, Satyam was threatened with dire consequences for pursuing his father's murder case. The slain BJP leader's son told Siwan town police on March 5 he was receiving threat calls on his cellphone and sought protection for himself and his family.
"The police have failed to make any significant breakthrough even after two weeks," Satyam said.
Siwan MP Om Prakash Yadav met bereaved family members, described the incident as "politically motivated" and demanded action. He also called on Union home minister Rajnath Singh and apprised him of the situation in Siwan.
Earlier, Rajiv Roshan (29), a businessman and BJP sympathiser, was murdered in June. His father Chinta Babu said Rajiv was murdered three days before he was to depose in a fast tract court as witness in the murder of his two elder brothers - Girish and Satish.
The father of the deceased, also a businessman, had accused incarcerated RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin's son Osama Shahab of plotting the murder of Rajiv, the lone witness in the double murder case. "I had to bear the brunt for siding with Om Prakash, who defeated Shahabuddin's wife Hina Shahab in the Lok Sabha poll," he told The Telegraph.
These are not the only cases. Darauli block pramukh Rita Singh's husband Vinay Kumar Singh lodged a complaint with Darauli police on Friday, apprehending a threat to his life. Vinay said: "This is the second time in six months that I have been threatened."
Asked about allegations against Osama, Siwan superintendent of police Vikas Burman said: "Mere accusations cannot lead to arrests." He said, an FIR was lodged against two unidentified persons. A suspect in the case, Shailesh, was arrested from Uttar Pradesh and sent to jail. "The identity of other accused is being ascertained," he said. Shailesh told interrogators he was given a contract of Rs 25 lakh to kill Srikant.
"Siwan would soon see the return of Lalu-Rabri era when people preferred to down shutters and return home before sunset," said a trader, adding that the men who abducted Srikant from Pandeypur village have sought Rs 25 lakh for his release.
