Jamshedpur, July 10 (IANS) Jharkhand police have further tightened the noose around the accused in the murder case of Himanshu Singh, a young leader associated with the Karni Sena in Jamshedpur, with another absconding accused surrendering before the police on Friday.

The accused, Rahul Dubey, who had been on the run since the incident, surrendered at Bistupur police station around 1 p.m. on Friday, police officials said.

Amid continuous police raids, mounting legal pressure, and a series of arrests in the case, he chose to surrender himself before the police.

With his surrender, the number of accused arrested and sent to judicial custody in the case has risen to 12. Police had been conducting sustained operations to trace and arrest the remaining absconders.

Earlier, police arrested several accused persons, including Double Down Bar owner and BJP leader Neeraj Singh from the Khatu Shyamji area in Rajasthan and bar manager Vijay Kumar, and sent them to jail.

The main accused in the case, Vishwanath Mandal, alias Bodra, who carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, had also recently surrendered before the Jamshedpur Civil Court.

Several other accused, including a juvenile, had been apprehended earlier. Police recovered sharp-edged weapons such as choppers, axes, knives and other deadly weapons used in the crime from those arrested.

The murder took place on the night of June 27 outside Double Down Bar in Bistupur, where Himanshu Singh was allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons. He later succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment. Several individuals have been named as accused in the case.

According to allegations, Himanshu Singh and his friend objected to the alleged harassment of women by a group of youths inside the bar. A confrontation followed, during which Himanshu was attacked.

In an attempt to save himself, Himanshu reportedly sought refuge inside a police PCR vehicle. However, the attackers dragged him out in front of police personnel and assaulted him with sharp-edged weapons.

The incident had triggered widespread criticism over policing and law-and-order in the city.

In the aftermath, the Jharkhand government initiated administrative action against several police officials, including the then Senior Superintendent of Police.

–IANS

snc/skp/dan