Convicts hatched the conspiracy to kill Dainik Jagran journalist Vimal Kumar Yadav, who was shot dead on Friday. In a shocking revelation, Araria police on Saturday disclosed that Rupesh Yadav and Kranti Yadav, currently incarcerated at the Supaul and Araria jails, respectively, plotted to kill the journalist, the only witness in the murder of his younger brother Gabbu Yadav.
Vimal Yadav had been continuously receiving threats to change his testimony. Out of eight persons named as accused in the case, four have been arrested. The two main accused in the case — Madhav Yadav and Arjun Sharma — are absconding.
Araria Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Kumar Singh on Saturday said two convicts in two different jails had conspired to kill Vimal Yadav through his friends.
“Rupesh Yadav and Kranti Yadav, who are currently in Supaul and Araria jails, respectively, hatched the conspiracy to kill the journalist. They are in jail on the charges of the murder of Gabbu Yadav, the younger brother of the deceased. We are in the process of taking them on remand for interrogation. Vimal’s father has named eight accused and so far; the police have arrested four; and two main accused who had opened fire are still absconding. Continuous raids are being conducted to catch the others,” Mr. Singh said at a press briefing in Araria.
At about 5.30 a.m. on Friday, four people knocked at the door of Vimal Kumar’s house in Raniganj block and opened fire when he answered. He was rushed to the Raniganj referral hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
Former Deputy Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi strongly condemned the journalist’s murder, alleging the government had succumbed to the criminals.
Mr. Modi said that if Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not pretending to praise former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he should set aside politics and follow “rajdharma” to establish the rule of law in Bihar.
He also claimed that whenever Mr. Kumar joined hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav, the morale of criminals had risen in the State.
“Nitish Kumar has made a compromise with crime, corruption and communalism, the ‘triple C’, to remain in power. He has lost the will to stop crime. A government which takes action on the basis of caste and religion of criminals cannot follow rajdharma,” Mr. Modi said.
BJP MP Janardhan Singh Sigriwal said that crime is at a peak Bihar and “nobody is safe under the leadership of Nitish Kumar”.
“The people of Bihar made him Chief Minister to bring good governance. He fought against ‘jungle raj’ and then became CM but today he has joined hands with the people of jungle raj. The administration is busy in the smuggling of liquor and sand,” Mr. Sigriwal alleged.
Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly Vijay Kumar Singh on Saturday visited the house of the deceased journalist to meet his family members. He too blamed the government for the failure of law and order in the State.
“When Vimal Yadav had given the complaint that he was continuously receiving threats, then why did the police not take it seriously? If the administration had provided him security, he would have been alive today. There is complete anarchy in the State and the Chief Minister should resign on moral grounds,” Mr. Sinha said.
