Patna:A day after taking the oath, Bihar law minister Kartikeya Singh landed in trouble after an old criminal case has come to the fore. The RJD minister who also happens to be the close associate of gangster-turned politician Anant Singh was one of the 31 ministers who took oath in Raj Bhavan on Tuesday.
Now, a controversy has erupted over his induction into the cabinet of chief minister Nitish Kumar who carries a clean image. He was supposed to surrender in a kidnapping case on August 16 at Danapur court but instead of reaching court, he reached Raj Bhavan to take oath as the new minister in the cabinet of the Grand Alliance.
Singh was elected as MLC on the RJD ticket in April 2022 and has become minister for the first time. However, now the question is being raised about his induction by the opposition. Kidnapping case was lodged against Singh and others at Bihita's police station in Patna district in 2014 in which he was accused of hatching the conspiracy against a builder with the intent of murder. A chargesheet was filed in the case and a warrant was issued against him on July 14, 2022. He was asked to surrender but did not turn up in court.
Singh, however, filed a petition in the Danapur court for relief and based on his petition, the court issued an order of no-coercive action till September 1, 2022. Victim's family advocate Ajay Pratap Sharma told ETV Bharat, “It is a kidnapping case of 2014 and based on the statements by the victims, an arrest warrant was issued against him on July 14, 2022. However, Singh had filed an interim bail petition before the court and the court ordered no-coercive till 1st September 2022. It means till the time the hearing on bail petition is not completed, he cannot be arrested.”
Also read: 72 per cent of Bihar ministers face criminal cases: ADR
As per the data available with Association for Democratic Reform (ADR), there is one charge related to theft (IPC Section 379), one charge related to kidnapping (IPC Section 363), one charge related to kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person (IPC Section – 365) registered against Singh.
Along with it, three charges related to punishment for rioting (IPC Section – 147), two charges related to punishment of criminal conspiracy (IPC Section – 120B), two charges related to mischief causing damage (IPC Section – 427), two charges related to assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty (IPC Section – 353) and two charges related to every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offense committed in prosecution of common object (IPC Section 149) are registered against Singh as per the ADR report.
Singh on the other hand said that he has not hidden anything and all the details are mentioned in his election affidavit. Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi while speaking to the media said Bihar CM should sack Singh from the cabinet.
Another BJP spokesperson Dr Nikhil Anand told ETV Bharat, “The Council of Ministers of Nitish Kumar government is presenting a very horrible picture. These rotten people cannot ensure the safety and security of the people of Bihar. How come a person hides the fact that he is wanted in a kidnapping case and took oath as a law minister of Bihar. It is very shameful for Nitish Kumar to have succumbed to the pressure of RJD.”
Nitish on other hand said that he has no information about the arrest warrant against Singh when reporters asked him at the sidelines of a function in Patna. “I have no information about this,” Nitish said. RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav slammed the opposition and said, "Nobody is above law and if anyone tries in between, they would not be spared. We are not like the BJP who protect their own people and trap others. BJP has kept 95 per cent opposition leaders on the radar of ED. If the case against Singh would not be true then who would be responsible? You cannot accuse anyone based on the allegations."
Later in the day, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad also jumped in defence of Kartikeya Singh. Replying to reporters in Patna, Lalu said: "There is no need to pay attention to what Sushil Modi says. Sushil Modi is a liar, there is no such case."
