Bihar: LJP laments party leader's murder; seeks Central intervention

Patna: The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on Saturday strongly condemned the murder of its leader Baijnathi Singh in Patna and sought the Centre's intervention in view of "uncontrolled crime" in the state. Central government intervention was demanded by state LJP President Pashupati Kumar Paras in a memorandum sent to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the party said in a statement.

The memorandum has been sent a day after gunning down of Baijnathi Singh, LJP leader of Bihar's Vaishali district, in an attack by rivals in Kachhi Dargarh area of Patna on Friday.

Union Minister and LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan and his MP son Chirag Paswan would be visiting the victims's native place Raghopur in Vaishali district on Sunday, LJP spokesman Lallan Chandravanshi said in a statement.

Singh was killed in the attack while his wife Veera Devi and wife of his younger brother Pooja Devi, who is also party chief of Raghopur block, sustained serious bullet injuries. Raghopur is assembly constituency of Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad. The victim's son Roushan Kumar had contested against Yadav in 2015 poll on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket.

Singh's wife Veera Devi had contested against Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi in 2010. The Bihar LJP chief expressed concern over use of AK-47 by killers of Baijnathi Singh saying "criminals have gone uncontrolled in Bihar".

Paras lamented that political murders have begun in the state and fear of administration had vanished. The BJP also attacked Nitish Kumar government in the wake

of Singh's killing.

Leader of Opposition in Assembly Prem Kumar, who had sat on a one-day protest fast here that ended yesterday over crime situation among others, said the use of sophisticated weapon like AK-47 highlights the deteriorating law and order situation under secular alliance government.

Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, in Bhagalpur, hit out at the Nitish Kumar government over the incident and lamented the rising crime graph saying "It's not 'Badhta Bihar' (a state marching ahead, the poll slogan of Nitish Kumar) but 'Darta Bihar' (fearful Bihar)".

Meanwhile, police has constituted an Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Superintendent of police (Rural) Lalit Mohan Prasad in the case.