Village head's brother beaten to death in UP's Kushinagar, 17 booked
Kushinagar (PTI): Seventeen people, including seven named accused, have been booked and two of them arrested in connection with the murder of a village head’s brother in Uttar Pradesh's, police said on Sunday.
The police said Bhola Yadav (52), brother of Gosainpatti village head Shambhu Yadav, was allegedly beaten to death on Friday night following an altercation with neighbours.
According to a complaint lodged by the deceased’s wife, Mukesh Yadav, a contractual employee at the Tamkuhiraj tehsil office, along with six others and 10 unidentified men, allegedly dragged Bhola out of his house and assaulted him with sticks and stones.
The incident is suspected to have stemmed from an old rivalry.
The killing sparked tension in the area, prompting the deployment of additional police force. Villagers had blocked the Chakhni crossing on Saturday, demanding immediate arrests, but lifted the blockade after assurances from officials.
An FIR was registered on Saturday under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and two accused have been arrested so far, Tamkuhiraj Circle Officer Rakesh Pratap Singh said.
Police have formed two teams to trace the remaining accused, he added.
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Will continue to keep tab on development work in Bihar: Nitish to JD(U) MLAs
Patna (PTI): JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Monday told party legislators that he will continue to keep a tab on the development work in Bihar despite having given up the chief minister's post a week ago.
Kumar addressed a meeting of the legislative party at 1, Anney Marg, which is the official residence of the chief minister and which the JD(U) supremo, now a Rajya Sabha MP, had occupied for nearly two decades.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, "Our party leader has said that except for sessions of Parliament, which would require his presence in Delhi, he will spend his maximum time in Bihar."
"Nitish Kumar told us that he will ensure that the good work done while he was in power continues under the new government, in which the JD(U) is an important partner. To keep a tab, he will tour the state in due course," Neeraj Kumar said.
The JD(U) spokesperson was asked about speculations that the meeting had been convened to decide on the role to be assigned to Nishant, the party supremo's son, who joined the JD(U) last month, but has declined to accept a ministerial berth in the Samrat Choudhary government.
"There is no confusion about the role of Nishant, who has been accepted by the party as the leader of the future. In any case, there was no discussion on him today," Neeraj Kumar said.
Nitish Kumar has been authorised by the legislators to decide on choosing the legislative party leader, he added.
Among those present at the meeting were Union minister and former JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' and Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav.
Interestingly, don turned politician Anant Kumar Singh, who represents Mokama assembly seat, claimed after the meeting that MLAs were asked by the supreme leader to try and win "200 seats in the next elections".
"Nitish Kumar ji told us that he will now be more easily available for party workers and general public. He also said that he will extensively tour the state and asked us to work hard so that the party wins 200 seats in the next elections", said Singh, who is often in news for putting his foot in the mouth.
The Bihar assembly is 243-strong and the JD(U)'s current tally is 85, four less than ally BJP, which is the single largest party.
The JD(U)'s best-ever performance was in 2010, when it had contested 142 seats and won 115 of these. It was also the highest tally for any single party since Bihar's truncation in 2000, until when Jharkhand was part of the state and assembly had 324 seats.
