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Shots were fired at a village in Bihar’s Patna after a scuffle between two groups, reportedly over a property dispute. Former Bihar MLA Anant Singh escaped unhurt in the incident.
A file photo of former Bihar MLA Anant Singh (PTI)
Former Bihar MLA Anant Singh escaped unhurt after shots were fired between two groups in Bihar’s Patna on Wednesday. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Avkash Kumar, nearly 15 rounds of bullets were fired in a shootout between two groups in Nauranga village in Barh.
Senior officials reached the spot and the matter was being investigated, news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Later, three spent cartridges were also recovered from the spot, Barh Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rakesh Kumar told reporters.
Commenting on the incident, the ASP said, “Conflicting versions are coming from the area. We are investigating these. A section of villagers claimed that initially some shots were fired, on the instructions of the former MLA, by his supporters.”
Some people claimed that there was an exchange of fire between the two groups, Kumar said.
“No one, including the former MLA, has been injured in the incident,” the Barh ASP said.
The ASP, however, ruled out the possibility of a gang war, and said, “As claimed by villagers, one side fired in retaliation only. It does not appear to be a gang war”.
A case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a family which claimed that their house was targeted during the firing, he added.
WHAT LED TO FIRING IN PATNA?
Talking to reporters, former MLA Anant Singh said that a group of poor people from Nauranga village met him and alleged that they were thrown out of their houses by some influential people, who also locked their residences.
“I went to the village in the evening and asked my supporters to open the locks. I also asked my people to call those who had forcibly locked the houses of poor people. When my men reached the home of Sonu-Monu (villagers), they were attacked. Supporters of Sonu-Monu started firing, and my men also retaliated,” Singh said.
“One of my supporters has sustained a bullet injury,” he added.
He is recuperating in the hospital, said the former MLA, adding, “Local police did not take action on the complaints filed by poor villagers in the area.”
Also speaking to reporters in Patna, Rural SP Vikram Sihag said, “The police received a call of the firing in Nauranga village in Mokama area under the jurisdiction of Pachmala Police Station limits in the evening. A team immediately reached the spot.”
“The gangs escaped, and no one has been injured. Local villagers told us that about 15 rounds were fired, but in the inspection of the incident spot, we have found only three round cartridges,” he said.
#WATCH | Barh, Patna, Bihar: On firing incident on former Mokama MLA Anant Singh, Patna Rural SP Vikram Sihag says, “The police received a call that an incident of firing took place between two gangs in Nauranga village in Mokama area under the jurisdiction of Pachmala Police… pic.twitter.com/uhOiVJTvOX— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2025
WHO IS ANANT SINGH?
Anant Singh, the gangster-turned-politician, whose MLA wife crossed over from the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), is also known as ‘chhote sarkar‘. He had represented the Mokama assembly seat several times.
The former legislator faced disqualification from the assembly after he was convicted in June 2020 in a case which was registered following the recovery of an AK-47 rifle, ammunition and two hand grenades from his ancestral residence two years earlier.
However, in August 2024, the Patna High Court acquitted Singh of the criminal charges of illegally possessing an AK-47 rifle along with other arms and directed the authorities to release him from jail.
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