PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, his older brother Tej Pratap and four others were arrested on Monday for the murder of former RJD leader Shakti Malik.
The incident occurred in the Purnea district of Bihar on Sunday. Police investigating the case said Shakti Malik was at his residence when he was shot by three armed men.
Others who have been appointed to the IRF are Anil Sadhu, Kalo Paswan, his wife Sunita Devi and Manoj Paswan. Anil Sadhu is the son-in-law of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. He was with the LJP before.
The deceased’s wife, Khushboo Devi, in her complaint to the police also pointed to a serious political conspiracy behind the murder of her husband.
Sources said Shakti Malik was trying to get a ticket from Raniganj’s seat in the neighboring Araria district. Shortly after her murder on Sunday, a video clip appeared showing the deceased making accusations against Tejashwi Yadav and Anil Sadhu for demanding 50 lakhs of rupees for a ticket to dispute the RJD ticket.
“A case has been registered and the investigation is ongoing,” said Purnea SP Vishal Sharma.
Purnea sources told this newspaper that the police were also analyzing Shakti Malik’s phone records, her source of income and bank details. They said that during the initial investigation, police found that he was expelled from the RJD in September after he made serious allegations against top RJD leaders.
The investigation also revealed that he had political enmity with a local leader, Kalo Paswan, who was also interested in competing from Raniganj’s seat on the RJD ticket.
Meanwhile, the incident has raised the political temperature in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections. The NDA leaders, while demanding an explanation from Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap, said: “The CBI investigation must be ordered to uncover the truth behind the incident.”
However, the RJD called the allegations and FIR an attempt to tarnish Tejashwi Yadav’s image in light of the Assembly elections.
“All of this is being done with a view to the elections to the Assembly. The accusation against Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap is politically motivated and unfounded, ”said Mrityunjay Tiwary, RJD spokesman.
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