Bihar's 'Bahubali' MLA Anant Singh convicted in AK-47 recovery case, sentence on June 21

'Bahubali' MLA  Anant Singh has been convicted in the AK-47 and hand grenade recovery case. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA from Mokama has been found guilty by the MP-MLA court in the matter. On June 21, the court will give its verdict on the quantum of punishment for the leader. 

The conviction comes in relation to a 2019 UAPA case when the police recovered an AK-47 rifle, 22 live cartridges, and two bombs from the politician's Mokama house. Police had raided the house of Anant Singh, a multiple-term MLA from the region at Ladma village in the Barh sub-division following a tip-off. After the shocking recovery, Anant Singh went on the run.

Later, Singh had released a video in which he claimed that political forces were working to 'conspire' against him in the AK-47 rifle case and that he would be directly surrendering at the court instead of surrendering to the police. Visuals of Anant Singh surrendering to the Delhi cops emerged later in which the leader was seen being escorted in a police jeep with officials around him. The Independent MLA  surrendered before the Saket court in August 2019.

Who is Anant Singh?

Nicknamed 'Chhote Sarkaar', Anant Singh has a long-standing criminal record and is facing 38 criminal charges including seven murders, eleven attempt-to-murder, and four cases of kidnapping, as per his election documents. Apart from the 'AK-47' case, he was also 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. In connection with the arms recovery, the MLA had reacted angrily and had alleged a conspiracy at the behest of JD(U) MP Lalan Singh. 

"Weapons not belonging to me are being shown as having been recovered from my house. The house has also been badly vandalized during the raid," he claimed, as per PTI.

Anant Singh was formerly known to be close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but fell out with him ahead of the 2015 assembly elections. Although he exited from the JD(U), he managed to retain his Mokama seat as an Independent. In 2020, Singh was given a ticket by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He won from the Mokama constituency with 35,291 votes for the fourth consecutive time.