Bihar court rejects tainted former minister Kartikeya Singh's bail plea; arrest next?

In more trouble for former Bihar Minister Kartikeya Singh, the Danapur court rejected his bail plea on September 1 in a kidnapping case. Singh has an outstanding arrest warrant against him in a kidnapping case for which he was granted interim protection till September 1 by a Danapur court. Notably, after he resigned on August 31, post the change in his portfolio from the Ministry of Law to the Sugarcane Ministry, Governor Phagu Chauhan accepted his resignation today, September 1. 

Earlier, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accepted his resignation and sent it to Governor Phagu Chauhan for acceptance, the CMO informed. Singh’s resignation came just hours after the change in his ministry. 

‘Many such will fall in the coming time’: Sushil Modi

Reacting to the tainted minister Kartikeya Singh’s resignation, Rajya Sabha MP and former Dy CM of the state Sushil Modi said, "This was the first wicket, many such will fall in the coming time,” and he further alleged that Singh had a warrant against him but still he took the oath as the law minister under the presence of Lalu Yadav.

Significantly, the day Singh took the oath of office, he was scheduled to appear before a court in Danapur in the kidnapping case on August 16. An arrest warrant has been pending against him in a 2014 kidnapping case, in which 16 others including former Mokama MLA Anant Singh are accused. 

When the BJP severely opposed against the oath-taking of Singh, he replied, “I have duly mentioned this case against me in my affidavit before becoming an MLC.”

Kidnapping case against Kartikeya Singh   

The former Minister Singh was booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 363 (kidnapping), 364 (kidnapping with intent to murder), and 365 (Secret, unjustified kidnapping with intent to imprison). Raju Singh, a close associate of Anant Singh was allegedly kidnapped in 2014 in a case of a dispute over financial irregularities. Raju Singh was later found by the police.

Image: PTI