Patna, Nov 3 (IANS) The Bihar government on Monday assigned Patna Traffic SP Aparajit Lohan additional charge as Rural SP of Patna, following the Election Commission’s directive to transfer Vikram Sihag in connection with the murder of Jan Suraaj supporter Dularchand Yadav in Mokama on October 30.

The move came after the Election Commission ordered the transfer of the Patna Rural SP and sought a detailed report on the incident, which has sparked political and administrative ripples in the region.

Influential local leader and JD-U candidate Anant Singh and his two aides have been named as accused in the case. Following Singh’s arrest, the Election Commission also ordered the transfer of two Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) and one Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), and directed that one of the SDPOs be suspended.

According to official sources, Chandan Kumar, SDO of Barh, was removed and replaced by IAS officer Ashish Kumar.

CID DSP Anand Kumar Singh has been posted in place of Barh SDPO-1 Rakesh Kumar, while ATS DSP Ayush Srivastava replaces Barh SDPO-2 Abhishek Singh.

Vikram Sihag has been recalled to the Police Headquarters and is yet to be assigned a new posting.

The murder of Dularchand Yadav, a supporter of Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi alias Lallu Mukhiya, on Thursday, had triggered tension in Mokama and surrounding areas.

Initial reports suggested that Yadav had sustained a gunshot wound, but the post-mortem report later revealed that the fatal injury was caused by a vehicle running over his chest, leading to multiple fractures and ruptured lungs.

The autopsy was carried out by a three-member panel of doctors at Barh for nearly two hours, under magisterial supervision.

Anant Singh’s name surfaced during preliminary investigation, and he was arrested in connection with the case on Sunday.

Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma confirmed that two more individuals — Manikant Thakur, a resident of Nadma village, and Ranjeet Ram, from Ladma village — were also arrested. All three were reportedly present at the scene during the incident.

–IANS

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