Days ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, gangster-turned-politician Dular Chand Yadav, once known for his close relations with prominent political figures in Bihar, was allegedly shot dead near the state capital on Thursday during election campaigning, police said.
The incident took place in Mokama, which falls in Patna district but is located 100 km from the city, where Yadav, who recently tied up with local candidate Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj Party, was said to have been involved in a clash with political rivals, as reported by PTI.
How was Dular Chand Yadav murdered?
According to Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Karthikeya K Sharma, “We received information that a supporter of a candidate died during campaigning in Mokama Tal area. The exact reason for the incident is not yet known as the body has not been handed over to the police.”
Yadav died while he was campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party’s candidate Piyush Priyadarshi, another officer said.
“Allegations are being made that the deceased was shot dead by supporters of his rival party. Whether he died due to gunshot or was it an accidental death can be known only when the police find the body,” the SSP said. He said that the matter will be investigated from all angles.
Prashant Kishor reacts
Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishore said, “Senior party leaders have gone to Mokama. As soon as we get any update, we will inform everyone.”
JDU’s Mokama candidate Anant Singh said, ‘Yadav raised his hand first’
JDU’s Mokama candidate Anant Singh reacted to the murder of Jan Suraj supporter Dularchand Yadav in Mokama.
He said, “We were meeting people and asking them to vote for us. On the way we saw several vehicles; they were also campaigning and started raising slogans of ‘Murdabad’. I told my supporters not to respond and we left. Some of my vehicles were behind us. Suraj Bhan was fully prepared for a confrontation and his men started attacking our vehicles… Dularchand was the first one to raise his hand. I He moved forward with about 30 vehicles and attacked the 10 vehicles behind. Vehicles were vandalized.”
Reacting to the incident, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav condemned the murder and called for an end to election-time violence. He said, “There is no need for violence during elections. We have never been in favor of violence. Right now the code of conduct is in place, yet some people are roaming around with guns and bullets.”
Jan Suraj Party state president Manoj Bharti alleged in a statement that this incident happened at the behest of those who seek votes by creating fear of ‘Jungle Raj’.
He said, “This is an attack on our democratic rights. We strongly condemn the attack on the convoy of our Mokama assembly election candidate Priyadarshi Piyush and the killing of one of his supporters.”
Bharti also said that every candidate has the right to conduct public outreach programmes.
“Attacking a supporter during election campaign, opening fire to show dominance and running over a vehicle to kill a supporter is a heinous crime,” the Jan Suraj Party leader said.
Further investigation is underway.
(with inputs from agencies)
