Sheikhpura (Bihar), Mar 25 (PTI): Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor on Tuesday demanded a medical bulletin on the mental health condition of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

He alleged that Kumar was being prevented from addressing functions and press conferences in a bid to shield him from public scrutiny.

Nevertheless, the JD(U) chief keeps making news for odd behaviour, he said, while addressing a press conference in Sheikhpura district.

The former poll strategist, who had a brief stint in the JD(U) headed by Kumar, which ended with his expulsion following a spat with the party supremo, said, "Concerns over the chief minister's mental health were first raised by his close aide, the late Sushil Modi, in 2023. For the last couple of years, the people of Bihar have been observing his behaviour."

There have been attempts to shield Nitish Kumar from public scrutiny by preventing him from interacting with the press and addressing public functions. Nonetheless, he keeps making news for odd behaviour, Kishor alleged.

"Kumar has been forgetting the names of cabinet colleagues. He has also been unable to remember, while on tour, which district he was in. During recent agitations over BPSC exams, I learnt he was not aware of the happenings in the state," claimed the 47-year-old politician.

He added, tongue in cheek, "If a medical bulletin is issued, it will remove from the minds of the people any misgivings about Nitish Kumar's soundness of mind. But I am sure he will not agree to such a thing."

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Bengaluru (PTI): A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.

The deceased, identified as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura, was a contract worker in the tahsildar’s office, they said.

Police said the man, who was married and had apparently separated from his wife, was in an illicit relationship with a woman identified as Saroja, whose charred body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Saroja was also married and had a son, police said.

According to police, on Saturday, the man allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance, claiming he had a medical emergency and needed to visit a hospital.

Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli. The two spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas.

Later, they reached a secluded spot in Doddaballapura, where it is suspected that an argument ensued inside the car, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.

He then set the car on fire, reportedly using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.

Locals who saw the burning car alerted the police and fire department, who rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire, and found the woman’s body completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added.

His severed body was found near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday, he said.

The motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive are under investigation, he said.

Saroja’s husband filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, police said, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.