Anant Kumar Singh is an Indian politician and a former MLA from the
Mokama assembly constituency of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
. A former member of the
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal (United) ("People’s Party (United)”) abbreviated as JD(U) is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar , Arunachal Pra ...
party, he joined
Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: ''National People's Party'') is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The party's support base has tradit ...
in 2020.
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.
Life and career
Singh was born in the village of
Nadawan falling under
Barh
Barh is a town and one of the 6 sub-division of Patna District, Bihar in India. It is located on the southern bank of the Ganges.
Population
, Barh had a total population of 316,348 residents, with 162,354 males and 153,994 females. Barh ha ...
CD block,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
to Chandradeep Singh.
He belongs to Bhumihar family. He 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
The Lok Janshakti Party ( LJP, "People’s Manpower Party") was a state political party mainly based in the state of Bihar, India. The party was formed in 2000 when Ram Vilas Paswan split from Janata Dal. The party had a considerable followin ...
(LJP) by a large margin. He is married to
Nilam Devi.
On 2 September 2015, Singh quit the JDU following a fall-out with leader
Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...
over the JDU's new alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
On 16 August 2019, Singh was booked under the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an Indian law aimed at prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty o ...
after the police took possession of an
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
rifle, a magazine, live cartridges and two hand grenades following a raid on his ancestral home in Ladma village of
Patna district
Patna district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Patna, the capital of Bihar, is the district headquarters. The Patna district is a part of Patna division. The Patna district is divided into 6 Sub-divisions ( ...
.
In 2020, Singh was given a ticket from Rashtriya Janata Dal to contest in the upcoming
Bihar legislative election.
He won from the
Mokama constituency with 35,291 votes, winning for the seat for the fourth consecutive time.
Criminal cases and influence
Singh has numerous cases of murder, kidnapping, and
land grabbing
Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions: the buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and transnational companies, governments, and individuals.
While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as ...
lodged against him. The Barh region has remained notorious for dreaded caste wars particularly between two
Forward Castes of Bihar, the
Bhumihar
Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.
The Bhumihars claim Brahmin statu ...
s and
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
s. 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
Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...
, decided to nominate him as his candidate on the ticket of
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal (United) ("People’s Party (United)”) abbreviated as JD(U) is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar , Arunachal Pra ...
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 cognizable 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.
Singh's activities dragged the nation's attention when in 2007 he was reported to have two journalists from NDTV 24×7 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 regime was aimed at mobilisation of
Bhumihar
Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.
The Bhumihars claim Brahmin statu ...
caste. According to the locals, Singh who was known as ''Chhote Sarkar'' () in Mokama is a role model of
Bhumihars, who consistently opposed
Laloo Yadav's regime. Thus, political parties opposing Yadav used him as a tool to mobilise Bhumihar voters.
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.
Arrest
Singh was arrested in 2015, in connection with a kidnapping and murder case. While he was being taken to
Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...
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 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 Supritendent of Police, Vikash Vaibhav situation was controlled.
Electoral history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Anant
1960s births
Bihar MLAs 2005–2010
Bihar MLAs 2010–2015
Living people
Janata Dal (United) politicians
Crime in Bihar
Indian prisoners and detainees
People from Patna district
Year of birth missing (living people)
Rashtriya Janata Dal politicians
Bihar MLAs 2020–2025
Indian politicians convicted of crimes