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Bihar's law minister faces arrest in kidnapping case, may resign

New Delhi: As the induction of RJD leader Kartikeya Singh in the council of ministers led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has brought an embarrassment for the government over an arrest warrant against Singh in a 2014 kidnapping case, the sources in the government have claimed that first-time MLC — a close aide of strongman Anant Singh, is likely to resign to avoid any further embarrsament to the newly formed RJD-led Mahagathbandhan government.

As per sources, the development in this regard has come after RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav took cognisance of the matter after reaching Patna on Wednesday.

However, defending the appointment of Singh, who was supposed to surrender before Danapur court on August 16 -- the day when he took the oath as state's new law minister, RJD leaders have put the blame on Bihar Police for not executing the court order in totality as the arrest warrant was issued on July 19, when the government was led by the NDA alliance.

On the issue, RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh said that if the court proves him guilty in the case, strict action would be taken against the concerned. However, he added that law minister Singh has clarified his stand in the matter.

Notably, the arrest warrant was issued against Singh on July 19 in a 2014 kidnapping case of one Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Raju Singh and he was supposed to surrender before court on August 16 after his failure to appear before court on several other occasions. Besides Singh, 16 others, including former Mokama MLA Anant Singh, have also been named as accused in the kidnapping of Raju Singh.

The issued warrant had been sent to the concerned Mokama police station from the SSP (Patna) office for compliance, but it could not be executed by the Mokama police, a senior police official said.

The chargesheet against Kartikey was filed by Patna police on September 19, 2018 under sections of 364 (kidnapping), 395 (punishment for dacoity), 397 (causes grievous hurt to any person), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 120 b (conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

On the issuance of the warrant, additional PP Rashmi Sinha said that the warrant was issued on the direction of Danapur civil court's first-class judicial magistrate Ajay Kumar.

Hitting out at the government, BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, "The council of ministers of Nitish Kumar government is presenting a very horrible picture. These rotten people cannot ensure the safety and security of the people of Bihar."

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