JOIN US
“The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) has taken cognizance and asked Nitish to appear before the court on September 9. It will be in the fitness of things if Nitish steps down as the chief minister before appearing in the ACJM court as a murder accused,” said Lalu, before leaving for Bochahan and Aurai, where bypolls are being held.
“We will also meet the governor and urge him to sack Nitish if he doesn’t quit on his own,” added Paswan, who was accompanying Lalu in the chopper. The summons was issued in connection with a murder case of one Sitaram Singh during the byelection in the Barh parliamentary constituency 18 years ago, in which the police had given clean chit to the accused. But after a long gap, one Ashok Singh filed a complaint petition on January 20, 2009, in the court for re-opening the case.
The case involved the murder of Congress worker Sitaram on November 16, 1991 in Barh. Incidentally, the murder took place on the polling day and Nitish was in the fray as the Janata Dal candidate from where he eventually won. Meanwhile, the Janata Dal (U) has decided to approach the Patna High Court against the lower court order.
“The Patna High Court on April 22 this year had stayed the proceedings in this case (No.131/1991). We will approach the Chief Justice of the HC with the plea that how could a lower court violate a High Court order,” said Bihar JD (U) president and Lok Sabha member Rajiv Ranjan Singh.