Bihar news: The Patna High Court today (August 14) acquitted former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA and influential Bahubali leader Anant Kumar Singh in a high-profile Arms Act case. Anant Singh was initially booked after the Patna Police recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, cartridges, a bulletproof jacket, and two hand grenades from his ancestral house in Barh on June 24, 2015. Additionally, an INSAS rifle and a magazine were allegedly recovered from his residence on Mall Road in Patna.
However, the court presided over by Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha, acquitted Singh due to a lack of evidence. Senior advocate PN Shahi represented Anant Kumar Singh in the case, while Ajay Kumar Mishra argued on behalf of the government. In separate orders, Justice Chandra Shekhar Jha allowed appeals of Singh challenging the orders of MP/MLA court, Patna, passed in June and July.
Anant Singh's path to get out of jail is clear now
With the court's ruling, the path has been cleared for Singh's release from jail, although the exact timing of his release remains unclear. He is currently in the Beur jail in Patna. After Anant Singh's conviction by the MP-MLA court in the Arms Act case, his wife, Neelam Devi, won the by-election on an RJD ticket. Interestingly, after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar left the 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) and formed a government with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) earlier this year, Neelam Devi also shifted her allegiance during the trust vote.
Anant Singh was granted parole for two weeks during the Lok Sabha elections, during which time he was accused by the opposition of supporting the JD(U) candidate Lalan Singh in the Munger constituency, despite not officially campaigning for him. Lalan Singh ultimately won the election. Before returning to jail, Anant Singh had expressed confidence that he would be released permanently within a month and a half.
Know more about Anant SinghA gangster turned politician who had represented the Mokama assembly seat several times, Singh had faced disqualification following the first order of conviction passed in June 2022, relating to a case lodged after an AK-47 rifle, ammunition and two hand grenades were recovered from his ancestral residence two years earlier.
The second case, in which the order came in July 2022, related to the recovery of an INSAS rifle recovered in 2015 from the government-allotted Patna residence of the MLA. The court noted that the MLA was in jail when the raid was conducted at his Patna residence and that none of the prosecution witnesses suggested that he was aware of the presence of the items at the premises.
As regards the recovery of the AK-47 rifle, grenades and other items from the Mokama residence, the court pointed out, among other things, the prosecution's failure to bring on record whether the convict/appellant visited the premises soon before the items were seized from the locked compound.
Singh's wife Neelam Devi, who now represents Mokama, had won the seat on a ticket of RJD, with which her husband too was associated. A few months ago, however, she crossed over to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U).
"My client has secured bail in all other cases. With the honourable high court setting aside his conviction in the two cases, we are looking forward to his release at the earliest," said Sunil Kumar, Singh's lawyer.
Incidentally, Singh had also alleged political witch-hunting in the Mokama case, underscoring the fact that his wife had contested against Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, senior JD(U) leader and Union minister, who represents Munger Lok Sabha seat under which the assembly segment falls. Singh had also cast doubts over the investigation carried out by the then Additional Superintendent of Police Lipi Singh, whose father RCP Singh was then a top leader of the JD(U) and went on to enjoy a brief tenure in the Union cabinet.
During the Lok Sabha elections, Singh had been out on parole, granted on medical grounds. His presence in Mokama during the period and declaration of support for Lalan is believed to have played a role in the JD(U) leader's comfortable victory from Munger for a second consecutive term. Meanwhile, leader of the opposition in assembly Tejashwi Yadav trained his guns at the JD(U) over the development.
"When Anant Singh was with us, he was a criminal. Now that he is with Nitish ji, he has ceased to be an outlaw. It is for the people to judge the chief minister's claim that he frames none and shields none," the RJD leader told media.
