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Anant Kumar Singh

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Anant Kumar Singh
Anant Singh in a public meeting in Mokama
Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly
In office
February 2005 – July 2022
Preceded bySurajbhan Singh
Succeeded byNilam Devi
ConstituencyMokama
Personal details
Born (1967-01-05) January 5, 1967 (age 57)
Nadwan, Bihar, India
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations		Janata Dal (United), [1] Rashtriya Janata Dal[2][3]
SpouseNilam Devi
RelationsDilip Singh (elder brother)
Residence(s)Mokama, Bihar, India
Nickname(s)Chhote Sarkar (transl. Junior Government)[4]

Anant Kumar Singh, also known as Chhote Sarkar, is an Indian politician and a former MLA from the Mokama assembly constituency of Bihar.[5][6] A former member of the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) party, he joined Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in 2020.[2][7] According to his election affidavit of 2020, he is facing 38 criminal charges including 7 murders, 11 attempt-to-murder and 4 cases of kidnapping.[8][9][10][11]

Life and career

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Anant Singh was born in the village of Nadawan falling under Barh CD block, Bihar to Chandradeep Singh.[12][13]His elder brother Dilip Singh, also a politician, became MLA & Minister from Mokama in 1990 and 1995 as a member of Janata Dal, but lost to another gangster turned politician, Surajbhan Singh in the assembly elections of year 2000 on RJD ticket. In 2003, Dilip Singh became MLC from Patna local authorities as an independent candidate. He was one of the Bhumihar leaders who became MLC from local bodies with Kapildev Singh in 2003. [14]

Anant Singh with elder brother Dilip Singh
MLA Anant Singh (white shirt on right) with elder brother MLC Dilip Singh (left)

Anant Singh contested and won from the Mokama assembly seat in 2005 on a JDU ticket. He retained the seat in 2010, defeating Sonam Devi of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) by a large margin.[15] He is married to Nilam Devi.[16]

On 2 September 2015, Singh quit the JDU following a fall-out with leader Nitish Kumar over the JDU's new alliance with the RJD, but was able to retain his seat as an Independent.[17]

On 16 August 2019, Singh was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after the police took possession of an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, live cartridges and two hand grenades following a raid on his ancestral home in Ladma village of Patna district.[18]

In 2020, Singh was given a ticket from Rashtriya Janata Dal to contest the upcoming Bihar legislative election.[2] He won from the Mokama constituency with 35,291 votes, winning the seat for the fourth consecutive time.[19]

Even after JDU left mahagathbandhan in 2017, Nitish Kumar continued to have a tough stance on Anant Singh, especially after he fielded his wife Nilam Devi as Congress candidate in 2019 lok sabha elections from Munger against JDU's Lallan Singh.

He contested the 2020 Vidhansabha elections from Mokama on RJD ticket and won from jail. However he was disqualified in 2022 due to a case for illegal position of weapons. His wife Nilam Devi won the by elections from Mokama on RJD Ticket.

However, she switched sides to JDU when it left Mahagathbandhan again in 2024. Anant Singh was released on parole for 15 days during the 2024 lok sabha election and was campaigning in Munger for JDU's Lallan Singh.

On 14 August 2024 Patna High Court acquitted Anant Singh in case of illegal arms act for which he was serving 10 years sentence from 2022.

Criminal cases and influence

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Singh has numerous cases of murder, kidnapping, and land grabbing lodged against him. The Barh region has remained notorious for dreaded caste wars particularly between two Forward Castes of Bihar, the Bhumihars and Rajputs. In these wars he emerged as a saviour of his community. According to locals, people in this region refrain from going outside during night due to fear of being kidnapped or murdered. The fortune of Singh turned when Nitish Kumar, decided to nominate him as his candidate on the ticket of Janata Dal (United) from the Mokama constituency. It was considered as paradoxical by a section of media that Kumar who vowed to end 'criminalisation of politics' was backing such a person against whom charges of serious cognisable offences were lodged. But, amidst criticism and counter statements Singh managed to win from Mokama seat due to support of his castemen as well as the wave of Nitish Kumar. Singh has been three times MLA from Mokama.[20]

Singh's activities dragged the country's attention when in 2007 he was reported to have two journalists from NDTV 24x7 and ANI News as hostages in his official bungalow. It was reported that they had been there to interview Singh upon his involvement in murder and molestation of a woman called Reshma Khatoon whose body was recovered in a sack near the capital. The political protection given to Singh and another gangster named Sunil Pandey by the ruling government was aimed at mobilisation of Bhumihar caste. According to the locals, Singh who was known as Chhote Sarkar (transl. Junior Government) in Mokama is a role model of Bhumihars, who consistently opposed Lalu Yadav's government. Thus, political parties opposing Yadav used him as a tool to mobilise Bhumihar voters.[4]

Singh was also allegedly involved in kidnapping of four youths, who as per allegations were responsible for eve-teasing of a girl, latter being sister of one of Singh's men. As per news reports, the four youths were kidnapped and assaulted allegedly by the goons of Singh and one of them named Puttus Yadav was killed brutally.[21]

Arrest

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Singh was arrested in 2015, in connection with a kidnapping and murder case. While he was being taken to Secretariat police station in Patna, he started giving interview to media. In the meantime, city SP of Patna Chandan Kushwaha arrived and he asked Singh to avoid talking to media, however, Singh continued to do so. In response to this, Kushwaha dragged him and tried to take him inside the police station forcefully. Singh also became adamant and confronted him. As a result of this both men were reported pushing and shoving each other in front of media and police force. After arrival of Senior Superintendent of Police Vikash Vaibhav, the situation was controlled. [22]

See also

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Electoral history

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# From To Position Party
1. 2005 2010 MLA (1st term) from Mokama JD(U)
2. 2010 2015 MLA (2nd term) from Mokama JD(U)
3. 2015 2020 MLA (3rd term) from Mokama IND
4. 2020 2022# MLA (4th term) from Mokama RJD

Note: He was disqualified in July 2022 due to conviction[23][24]

References

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  1. ^ "Bihar MLA Anant Kumar Singh, charged under Arms Act, flees from residence post police raid". The New Indian Express. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "RJD Gives Bihar Election Ticket To Don Anant Singh, Who Lalu Prasad Once Got Arrested For Murder". HuffPost India. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  3. ^ Mukul, Sushim (6 May 2024). "A parole makes Munger Lok Sabha election a fight of bahubalis". India Today. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b Upadhyay, Ashok. "How Nitish Kumar plays the caste card when it suits him". Dailyo.in. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  5. ^ Sinha, Chinki (24 March 2014). "The Don of Mokama". Open. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  6. ^ Srivastava, Amitabh (15 February 2013). "Dreaded JD-U MLA, Anant Singh bites dust in Bihar, vacates enchroached area in Patna's posh colony". India Today. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. ^ "CNN-News18 Breaking News India, Latest News Headlines, Live News Updates". News1.com8. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  8. ^ Sahay, Anand Mohan (8 January 2008). "Murder case against Bihar MLA Anant Singh". Rediff.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  9. ^ Prasad, Kashi (18 April 2014). "Anant Kumar Singh, Surajbhan Singh detained". Times of India. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Why Bihar government wants this dabangg officer gone". Dailyo.in. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Anant Kumar Singh(RJD):Constituency- MOKAMA(PATNA) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". myneta.info. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Anant Kumar Singh(RJD):Constituency- MOKAMA(PATNA) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". myneta.info. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Bihar: Gangster-turned-politician Anant Singh released on parole days before polling in Mokama". The Indian Express. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  14. ^ Kumar, Mayank (9 May 2024). "52 criminal cases & love of horses — who's Bihar ex-MLA Anant Singh, out campaigning on 15-day parole". ThePrint. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  15. ^ "IndiaVotes AC Summary: Mokama 2010". IndiaVotes. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  16. ^ Kumar, Abhay (25 September 2015). "Don Anant Singh is still a favourite". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Controversial JD(U) MLA quits party". Indian Express. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  18. ^ PTI (18 August 2019). "Bihar MLA booked under UAPA absconding: Police". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Mokama Election Result 2020 Live Updates: Anant Singh of RJD WINS". News18. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  20. ^ Rajsingh, Amit. "How Changing Equations May Finally Put a Stop to This Criminal Politician's Career". thewire.in. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  21. ^ Parashar, Sachin (24 September 2015). "A murder exposes Bihar's caste faultlines". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  22. ^ "गिरफ्तारी के बाद थाने में जदयू विधायक अनंत सिंह व सिटी एसपी भिड़े". livehindustan.com. 24 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  23. ^ "Convicted RJD MLA Anant Kumar Singh disqualified from Bihar Legislative Assembly". The Times of India. 16 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Bihar politician Anant Singh loses assembly membership, not the 1st on that list". The Hindustan Times. 15 July 2022.
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