Gopalganj cops unearth plot to kill outgoing district board chairman, arrest two

PATNA: The Gopalganj police on Thursday arrested two arms dealers and seized a huge quantity of raw material used in manufacturing illegal weapons. The arrested persons revealed to the police their plan to kill a candidate for the district board member post in the upcoming elections for panchayati raj institutions.
Mohan Kumar Maurya told the interrogators that he was offered a contract to supply illegal weapons for the upcoming panchayat polls by one J P Yadav, a murder accused and complainant of a triple murder at Rupanchak village in the district.
Maurya, stated to be a resident of Shahpur Patori under Bibhutipur police station area in Samastipur district, revealed that Yadav was planning to attack incumbent district board chairman Mukesh Pandey during campaigning.
Hathua SDPO Naresh Paswan said on Friday that the police foiled a major incident during the panchayat election in the district. He said the police raided a mini gun factory at Madarwani village under Phulwaria police station area and also recovered foreign currency from the possession of those arrested.
Mukesh, the nephew of JD(U) MLA from Kuchaikot Amrendra Kumar Pandey alias Pappu Pandey, is lodged in jail in connection with the Rupanchak killings. He is the son of underworld don Satish Pandey.
On Wednesday, the JD(U) MLA held a workers’ meeting at Hathua and appealed to the people of the area to support Mukesh, who has falsely been implicated in a triple murder case. “Mukesh is a formidable candidate in the upcoming election,” he told the gathering.
In a related incident on Friday, two people, including the husband of a mukhiya, were shot at by armed criminals at Pachohia village under Kadirganj police station area in Nawada district. The injured, Awadhesh Kumar Singh and his cousin Pradip Kumar, have been admitted to a local nursing home for treatment. Awadhesh, the husband of Ohari panchayat head Anita Devi, received bullet injuries in his thigh while bullets pierced through Pradip’s chest.
Awadhesh told the police that the incident was a fallout of political rivalry. “My wife is scheduled to contest the election again. But her political rivals are hatching a conspiracy to ensure her defeat, which will not happen,” he told the police.
Kadirganj SHO Suraj Kumar did not rule out rivalry over the upcoming panchayat polls as the reason behind the incident.