Bihar: Gopalganj district board chairperson and his father arrested in triple murder case

PATNA: The Gopalganj district board chairperson Mukesh Pandey and his don-turned politician father Satish Pandey were arrested on Monday for their alleged involvement in the firing in which three people were killed and an RJD activist was grievously wounded on Sunday evening.
The police also conducted a raid at the native village of the JD (U) MLA from Kuchaikote Amrendra Kumar Pandey alias Pappu Pandey in Gopalganj district but he couldn’t be arrested.The lawmaker is among three named accused in the FIR lodged with the Hathua police station on the statement of the injured, JP Yadav.
The incident took place around 7.15 pm on Sunday when JP Yadav along with his father, mother and elder brother was engaged in conversation near the entrance gate of their house at Rupanchak village under Hathua police station in the district.
Five criminals riding on two motorbikes reached the spot and opened fire at JP, who managed to escape but only after receiving bullet injuries in his hands. The assailants then fired at his father Mahesh Choudhary (65), mother Sankesia Devi (60) and elder brother Shantanu Kumar (40) causing grievous injuries.
While Mahesh and his wife died on the spot, Shantanu succumbed to his injuries on way to the hospital at Gorakhpur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh on Monday morning. J P Yadav, who was admitted to the sadar hospital at Gopalgan, was referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) for treatment.
Deputy inspector general (Saran range) Vijay Kumar Verma said on Monday that three people, including the legislator and district board chairperson, have been made named accused in the case on the statement of the eyewitness J P Yadav. “Efforts are on to ascertain the identity of other accused in the case,” the DIG told this newspaper over phone.
He confirmed that raids were carried out in search of the MLA but he was not found at his native village Tulsia. Two other named accused Mukesh Pandey, district board chairperson and his father Satish Pandey have already been arrested, he said, adding that sniffer dog was pressed into service to trace the assailants.
Earlier, Gopalganj SP Manoj Kumar Tiwari said that a special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to crack the high profile murder case at the earliest. “The investigation is proceeding in right direction and action will be initiated against the accused on the basis of scientific evidences," the SP added.
In his statement, JP Yadav, who recently switched over to the RJD from CPI-ML (Liberation), alleged that the district board chairperson Mukesh Pandey along with his four associates fired at him from close range, causing bullet injuries to him. “I fled from the site of occurrence even after getting injured, ” he told the interrogators.
Enraged, the assailants later killed his father, mother and his elder brother who were present in the house at the time of the incident.
The eye witness Yadav, however, cited political reasons behind the incident. “I had declared to contest election for the post of the district board chairperson, which enraged the ruling party MLA and his family members,” he said in his statement before the police.
According to Yadav, he had shared his pictures with his friend Parminder Yadav on social media recently, which they (the MLA and his family members) mistook him of having close connection with a notorious gangster Vishal Singh.
Gopalganj RJD district president Rajesh Singh Kushwaha claimed that J P Yadav had joined the party over a ago and was taking part in the programmes of the party on a regular basis. He admitted that Yadav was earlier working for the CPI-ML (Liberation).
Earlier, leader of opposition in the state assembly Tejashwi Prasad Yadav took a potshot on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He also demanded action against the JD(U) MLA for allegedly being involved in the firing in Gopalganj district, which had left three people dead and another injured.
Defending the CM Nitish Kumar and the JD (U), state information and public relations department minister Niraj Kumar said, “The leader of opposition must be knowing that there is rule of law in Bihar and nobody involved in the unlawful activities will be spared. The law will take its own course even in the case of Gopalganj incident.”