Links between Rajdev Ranjan’s death and jailed RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin

Under fire over the state of law and order in the state, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday recommended that the probe into the murder of Siwan-based journalist Rajdev Ranjan be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Earlier on Sunday, the police arrested four people in connection with the case, one of whom is Upendra Singh, a brick kiln owner and an active member of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He is said to be close to jailed RJD leader and former MP from Siwan, Mohammed Shahabuddin. Singh has been remanded to 14-day judicial custody under the Excise Act. No weapons have been recovered from the suspects yet, and the ballistic reports are awaited.

Speaking to the Indian Express, Asha, the slain journalist’s wife, said that Ranjan would often receive calls from Singh. “He would often talk about Upendra Singh calling him up and offering bricks — Singh is a brick kiln owner. Singh would also issue veiled threats to him for writing too much on the Siwan strongman (Shahabuddin). But he would ignore such threats and took it as part of his profession,” she said.

Incidentally, Singh was also involved in the murder of Shrikant Bharti, press advisor to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Siwan, Om Prakash Yadav. Bharti was shot dead by unidentified assailants in November 2014 –the same way Ranjan was killed. Investigators told Hindustan Timesthat the two murders had an “uncanny resemblance”.

Ranjan had written extensively on Shahabuddin and even implicated him in the murder of Bharti. Local sources say Singh is known to be a facilitator for Shahabuddin’s sharpshooters. In fact, a sharp-shooter has been quoted as saying that he got the contract a kill Bharti from Singh.