Dumka, Sept. 22: The two main accused in the sensational kidnap and murder of trader N.K. Singhania have claimed that the Deoghar mayor had offered them Rs 50 lakh as ransom asking them to free the victim.

The gangster-duo of Baban Singh and Guddan Singh, who were brought from Dhanbad by Deoghar police on remand yesterday, made the claims before the local media in yet another setback for mayor Rajnarain Khawade, who is already behind bars.

“Khawade has created a reign of terror in Deoghar by committing a number of serious crimes, including murder and extortion, with the support of local goons,” SP Subodh Prasad told The Telegraph today.

The SP said the investigating officer of the trader murder would be instructed to ascertain Khawade’s role following the statements of the accused.

Khawade, a Congressman, has been languishing in Deoghar jail after he was arrested for using force to prevent Godda MP Nishikant Dubey from continuing with his fast-unto-death on September 10.

The mayor was slapped with three cases, including one for masterminding an attack by his aides on Deoghar station to free him from police custody.

Notably, the octogenarian industrialist was kidnapped on March 18 from Deoghar. The kidnappers had sought a ransom of Rs 5 crore. Baban and Guddan told reporters that Singhania died of cardiac arrest the very next day and was buried in a riverbank in Munger, Bihar.

However, police recovered a beheaded body on March 25. A DNA report in June confirmed the body was that of Singhania.

The SP added that local criminals were also involved in the kidnap and murder, including one Bablu Tiwari, who is already in jail. He said that Tiwari had earlier worked for Khawade, adding that the possibility of the mayor’s involvement in the murky episode could not be ruled out.

These apart, 12 cases — including murder and extortion charges — are pending against Khawade in various courts. The SP went on to add that Khawade had also played an instrumental role in the illegal transfer of land deeds over the years, referring to the Rs 1,000-crore scam that was unearthed recently. “Ordinary people live in terror of him, so much so that they hardly came forward to register any complaint,” he added.

Reacting to former Godda MP Furkan Ansari’s visit to meet Khawade inside Deoghar jail on Sunday — in violation of norms — Prasad said the mayor was on judicial custody and that it was up to the prison authorities to ensure rules are complied with.

“The district administration has taken up the matter and other instances of the violation of the jail norms have also come to the fore,” the SP added.

Incidentally, Dubey has written to chief minister Arjun Munda and the chief secretary complaining about Khawade’s conduct demanding stern legal action against the latter. The Godda MP had even invoked the National Security Act to take Khawade to task for his criminal antecedents.