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Updated: Aug 19, 2019 07:50 IST

Police raided Bihar independent MLA Anant Singh’s residence in Patna early on Sunday but the Mokama legislator managed to escape, police said.

Singh has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after a police team raided his ancestral house at Ladma village and seized an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, live cartridges and two hand grenades on Friday.

One of Singh’s aides, Chotan Singh, was arrested from the residence on Saturday night.

“Police raided the official residence of MLA Anant Singh here for his arrest but he was found absconding from his house,” superintendent of police (rural), Patna, Kantesh Kumar Mishra, said.

The SP said police recovered a sword and government-provided mobile phone from the residence, and interrogated his wife, Veena Devi.

Singh — nicknamed ‘Chhote Sarkar’ — has a long criminal record and was recently summoned to the police headquarters in Patna for giving his voice sample in connection with a bid on the life of a Mokama-based contractor.

The MLA had reacted angrily to the raid at his ancestral house and alleged that a conspiracy has been hatched against him at the behest of another legislator.

“Weapons not belonging to me are being shown as having been recovered from my house. The house has also been vandalised during the raid,” he said.

The police have debunked the allegations levelled by the MLA and said the raid was carried out in the presence of a magistrate in accordance with the law, as well as the caretaker of the house. Moreover, the entire exercise was captured on video.

Singh made his political debut in 2005 on a Janata Dal(United) ticket when he wrested Mokama from another gangster-turned- politician Suraj Bhan Singh. The seat was earlier held by Anant Singh’s elder brother Dilip Singh, who had served as a minister in the Rabri Devi government.

Singh exited from the JD(U) after a falling out with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, but retained the Mokama seat as an independent.

(With agency inputs)