AURANGABAD/PATNA: Maoists killed BJP MLC Rajan Kumar Singh’s uncle Narendra Prasad Singh (65), blew up a community hall and torched 11 vehicles and a carpenter’s house at Sudi Bigha under the Deo police station area in Aurangabad district around 9.30pm on Saturday. The Maoists fled towards Chakarbandha hills.

They left behind pamphlets accusing the MLC of not returning their money, Rs 7 crore, including Rs 5 crore they had given the MLC at the time of demonetisation to exchange old notes for new.

IG (operation) Kundan Krishnan said Maoists knocked at the MLC’s door which his uncle opened. “A scuffle took place following which he was shot dead,” Kundan said. He said it was for the first time in Bihar that Maoists had left pamphlets with such allegations.

The Maoists also planted IEDs at the MLC’s residence, but could not trigger the devices. Police sources said the MLC was involved in government contract works.

The CPI (Maoist) clarified in the pamphlets that their fight was not against grassroots workers of BJP or RSS, but against people like Rajan, goons and other contractors.

The MLC refuted the allegations. “They are lying. Why will I take money from them,” he said, but conceded that Maoists had been demanding from him Rs 2 crore as levy since 2015, which he did not pay. “I had written to DGP and Aurangabad SP last year fearing threat to my life, but no concrete action was taken. I have been provided however an escort vehicle in Aurangabad,” he added.

A senior IPS officer preferring anonymity said Rajan and a few other lawmakers were involved in construction works in the Maoist-infested areas of Bihar where other contractors don’t dare operate out of fear. “No construction work is possible in Maoist-affected areas without their consent,” he said.

IG Krishnan said the Maoists could not trigger the IEDs around the MLC’s house because Deo SHO Subodh Kumar reached in time and fired at them. The CoBRA commandos of CRPF and Special Task Force (STF) personnel were later rushed to the village, barely a kilometre from Deo police station, he said.

Krishnan said Gaya and Aurangabad administrations had already been alerted about the Maoist threat to some people, including the MLC and the transporter.

“The Maoists had prepared a hit list at a meeting headed by their commander Prabodh Mishra a few months back. Security personnel had seized some documents containing their names with several rifles during an encounter at Dumaria in Gaya in September,” the IG said, adding an STF team led by SP Nilesh Kumar was sent to the spot and combing operation was going on.

( By Premendra Mishra and Debashish Karmakar )

