A quiet Friday morning turned into a tense day in Patna after the body of a former panchayat head was found near a field. As police investigate every possible angle, the mysterious death has sparked protests.
Image Source: IANS
A former Mukhiya has died under suspicious circumstances in Patna district, sparking protests and a road blockade on Friday. Police say they’re still waiting on forensic and post-mortem reports before drawing any conclusions about what killed him.
The man has been identified as Sanjay Kumar Yadav, who previously headed Rahu Panchayat. His body turned up near a tubewell in Raghopur village, under the jurisdiction of Bihta police station.
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Villagers heading out to their fields early Friday morning spotted the body and raised the alarm, informing both the police and Yadav’s family. Officers reached the spot soon after, cordoned off the area, and started gathering evidence.
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Yadav’s relatives are convinced he was killed elsewhere and his body dumped near the field afterward to cover it up. They’re pushing for a thorough probe and want whoever’s responsible arrested and punished. Police, for their part, say they’re not confirming anything yet — they want to look at the case from every angle before jumping to conclusions.
A Forensic Science Laboratory team from Patna has been brought in to examine the scene. Investigators are hoping the physical evidence, combined with the post-mortem findings, will help clear up exactly how Yadav died.
Police mentioned that Yadav had several criminal cases against him, including ones under the Arms Act, and that he’d been absconding in a few of them. That’s now one of the threads investigators are pulling on — whether his death is connected to any of those old cases — though they say they haven’t ruled anything out yet.
Bihta SHO Amit Kumar said there’s still no confirmed cause of death. He noted that an initial look at the body didn’t turn up any obvious injuries, which is why police are holding off on calling it murder — or anything else — until the forensic and post-mortem reports come back. He added that his team responded as soon as they got word, and that the FSL has already been looped in as part of a wider investigation.
News of the death didn’t sit well with locals or Yadav’s family, and anger spilled onto the streets. Protesters blocked the Bikram–Bihta main road, some of them setting fire to debris as tensions ran high. Police had to step in to clear the road and get traffic moving again. Security in the area has since been beefed up to head off any further trouble.
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