Bihar 'Bahubali' Anant Singh: The Man In White With Dark Crimes To His Name

Anant Kumar Singh AKA Chhote Sarkar, the JDU strongman arrested in a murder case, is a colourful character who mostly wears white. Mostly seen in sunglasses and white clothes, Singh enjoys a near-cult status on social media, with his off-the-cuff remarks spawning reels and memes. Mokama near Patna is his bastion. For the past two decades, Anant Singh has controlled politics here. He does not need a symbol; he is the symbol. JDU or RJD or Independent: his victory is certain; the party and slogans keep changing.

Social media memes and jokes can sometimes exoticise bahubalis to a point where they seem amusing and comic. But look at the numbers, and their grisly list of crimes emerges and whispers: not funny. Anant Singh, who has been arrested for allegedly murdering gangster-turned-politician Dular Singh Yadav, is the JDU's candidate for the upcoming election. In the run-up to the polls, he had been speaking to the media and posting campaign reels through his Instagram handle. And just when the memes had almost made us forget, Singh's arrest has put the spotlight on the enduring criminalisation in Bihar's politics.

Crimes and Assets

According to the nomination papers Singh filed for the upcoming polls, he has 28 ongoing cases against him. The crimes he is charged with include murder, criminal conspiracy, torture, kidnapping, and assault. The list also includes theft, sheltering criminals, and several arms cases.

According to the affidavit, Singh has movable assets worth Rs 13 crore. He owns high-end cars, including a Toyota Land Cruiser worth Rs 2 crore and a Toyota Fortuner SUV. Interestingly, he also owns an elephant, a horse, and cattle. Anant Singh's affidavit states that his movable and immovable assets add up to Rs 37.88 crore. His wife, Neelam Devi, MLA from Mokama, owns assets worth Rs 62.72 crore.

The Mokama Bahubali

Mokama is less than 100 km from Bihar's capital Patna, but chhote sarkar is the 'sarkar' here. For the past two decades, Anant Singh has represented the seat in the Bihar Assembly. The Bhumihar leader made his Assembly debut in 2005. He retained the seat in the 2010 election. In 2015, he quit the JDU after Nitish Kumar joined hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD. In that election, he contested as an Independent and trounced the JDU candidate.

Before the 2020 election, Singh switched to the RJD. This time, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav had parted ways by then. Political equations in the state had changed, but the Mokama result was the same. Anant Singh won again. In 2022, however, Singh was convicted in an arms case and lost his Assembly membership. His wife, Neelam Devi, contested the bye-election and retained Mokama for RJD. This time, Singh changed his camp again and got a JDU ticket.

Dular Singh Yadav's Murder

Criminal-turned-politician Dular Singh Yadav was found dead in Mokama on Thursday. Yadav had been campaigning for Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi, but the party's leader, Prashant Kishor, has denied that Yadav was linked to Jan Suraaj.

Yadav's post-mortem report has shown that he died of cardiorespiratory failure due to shock caused by injury to the heart and lungs by a hard and blunt substance. Police have arrested Anant Singh, Manikant Thakur, and Ranjeet Ram in the murder case.

The strongman's supporters reportedly had an altercation with Yadav during which he suffered a bullet injury. Anant Singh has claimed that he was "far away" from the crime scene. "I do not know what exactly happened, but some of my people have complained that Yadav's henchmen vandalised their vehicles," he has said, also blaming rival strongman Suraj Bhan, whose wife is contesting from Mokama on an RJD ticket. "It must be the handiwork of Suraj Bhan. He orchestrated the killing so that I would get a bad name," Singh said.