Anant Singh gets 15-day parole, speculations rife over timing before Munger polls

Patna: Bihar’s gangster-turned-politician and five-time MLA from Mokama, Anant Singh, popularly known as ’Chhote Sarkar’, was released from Beur central jail in Patna on a 15-day parole on Sunday, officials said.

The police stepped up security measures after a huge crowd of Singh’s supporters gathered outside the Beur jail upon getting information about his release, to avoid any untoward incidents. More than 100 SUVs were seen in Anant’s cavalcade between Patna and Mokama.

Mokama assembly constituency falls under Munger lok sabha and its election is scheduled on May 13.

Singh is convicted and faces 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in two separate Arms Act cases.

Singh had on August 23, 2019, appeared before the Saket court metropolitan magistrate Harun Pratap in Delhi in a dramatic turn of events to surrender after Patna police lodged a case against him under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019.

Police on specific inputs had raided Singh’s native village Ladma under the Barh police station of rural Patna on August 16, 2019, and seized one AK-47 assault rifle, two hand grenades, and live cartridges from there.

Police said that the AK 47 rifle was covered in carbon to avoid detection by the metal detectors. 

According to Beur jail superintendent Jitendra Kumar, Singh was released on parole granted by the state home department for the resolution of his ancestral land. However, political circles are agog with rumours linking his release ahead of the Munger parliament election to help the Janata Dal (United) candidate Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh.

“The timing will certainly raise eyebrows as the land resolution could have been done after a month. But this is the way Nitish Kumar (Bihar chief minister) functions and nothing will change the course of the election this time due to the people’s growing support for Tejashwi Prasad Yadav [Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly], who has been single-handedly taking on the might of the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party],” said RJD leader Shakti Singh Yadav.

It may be noted that RJD has fielded Anita Devi, wife of dreaded gangster Ashok Mahto from Munger Lok Sabha. Anant’s wife Nilam Devi had won the Mokama Assembly seat on an RJD ticket, however, she extended support to Nitish Kumar, along with another don-turned-politician Anand Mohan’s son Chetan Anand of the Congress during the floor test. Mohan’s wife is also a candidate from Shehohar on the JD-U ticket.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha, Devi fought against Lalan Singh from Munger on a Congress ticket but lost. 

Former MLA Anant has developed a Robin Hood image in his constituency and is known for helping patients from his vicinity get admitted to hospitals in Patna and Delhi.

Anant has a long-standing criminal record and is facing 38 criminal charges including seven murders, eleven attempt-to-murder, and four cases of kidnapping.

Anant is said to be one of the most controversial politicians in the state for the last four decades. He won five times from the Mokama constituency— three times on a JD(U) ticket, while fourth time as an independent candidate, and the fifth time on an RJD ticket in 2020. 

Past records- 

The MP-MLA court of Patna on July 21, 2022, awarded 10 years’ imprisonment to former Anant in the recovery of a bullet-proof jacket and six magazines from his official flat in 2015. 

“An AK 47, 26 live bullets, magazines and explosives – these are a few things that are generally recovered by security forces or from terrorists or Maoists. The arms and ammunition were recovered from a public servant’s house, which is very surprising,” said an official of the state home department. 

The police had raided his residence in connection with a kidnapping and murder case under Barh police station limits. In the incident, four youths were allegedly kidnapped on June 17, 2015, and the next day, the body of one of them, was recovered from the ancestral village of Anant.

On July 18, 2023, Beur jail administration registered a first information report (FIR) against 31 people, including Anant, in connection with an attempt to carry out a jailbreak, attack prison staff, snatch keys of gates and ensure the escape of prisoners.

In the FIR, the administration alleged that the former MLA tried to put pressure on jail staff and for the escape of prisoners, leading to attacks on prison staff by his supporters. They also damaged CCTV cameras installed inside the jail to avoid detection. Altogether 11 prison staff were injured in the incident.