Patna: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Monday alleged that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary had escaped trial in a decades-old murder case by “falsely” claiming to be a minor before the court.
Addressing a press conference here, Kishor said Choudhary’s affidavit, filed in 2020 at the time of getting elected to the state legislative council, flew in the face of his earlier claim before the apex court, and demanded his “immediate dismissal”.
Choudhary, a former state BJP president who holds crucial portfolios like finance in the Nitish Kumar government, dismissed the allegations and taunted the political strategist-turned-activist for behaving like an “investigative journalist”.
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“Left with nothing new to say, the poor chap seems to have become an investigative journalist. There is a proper forum to raise an issue. He is himself involved in corruption and is trying to divert attention by pointing fingers at others,” Choudhary claimed.
Kishor said his party would seek an appointment with the governor on Tuesday to “press for Choudhary’s sacking”.
“We also urge Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally BJP to act now, else they shall stand exposed before the people,” the Jan Suraaj Party founder said.
He also alleged that Choudhary had “faced trial in a case involving the murder of six people in his native Tarapur, in Munger district, way back in 1995”.
“To claim that he was then a minor, barely 14 years of age, Kishor submitted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate concerned an admit card issued by the Bihar School Education which stated that he was born in 1981”, said Kishor.
“Choudhary moved the Supreme Court, claiming that he was barely 14 when the mass murder took place and they let him off since juveniles could not be put on trial,” Kishor claimed.
“But, if we look at Choudhary’s affidavit of 2020, he states his age at the time to be 51 years. Taking that into account, he would have been in his 20s in 1995. These facts make him liable for prosecution. He should be in jail till he is acquitted,” Kishor said.
These are serious allegations, the Jan Suraaj Party founder said, adding that his previous charges, against the deputy CM, of “getting a D.Litt degree without having cleared class 10 exams”, were “less grave”.
“I also challenge Choudhary to come clean on his role in the Shilpi-Gautam murder case, which many remember only for Sadhu Yadav,” said Kishor.
Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh were found dead inside a car in a semi-nude state in 1999, triggering shock waves across Patna.
The vehicle was parked close to the house of Sadhu Yadav, a brother of Rabri Devi, the then CM.
Following an outcry, the case was handed over to the CBI, which filed a closure report a few years later, declaring the deaths to be a case of suicide.
Choudhary was then a minister in the state, his cabinet berth seen as a “reward” for his father Shakuni Choudhary switching allegiance from the Samata Party to the RJD.
Kishor also demanded a “public withdrawal” of the defamation notice by Ashok Choudhary, a state minister and a national general secretary of the JD(U) headed by Kumar.
“If Ashok Choudhary fails to do so, I will make public more of his financial irregularities, worth Rs 500 crore”, Kishor said.
Choudhary had slapped a legal notice on Kishor, asking him to tender an “unconditional apology” for defamatory remarks or face a civil suit seeking Rs 100 crore in damages.
Kishor had accused him of being involved in an irregular land deal worth Rs 200 crore.
The Jan Suraaj Party founder also claimed that a trust, which had among its members the mother-in-law of Choudhary’s daughter Shambhavi, a Lok Sabha MP herself, had “received a donation of Rs 100 crore”.
“All those associated with the trust, including a close relative of Chief Secretary Pratyay Amrit, should come forward and disclose the source (of income), else their integrity will be in doubt,” Kishor claimed.
The 47-year-old politician also lashed out at “inconsequential leaders of the BJP” for alleging that Kishor was running his party with money raised through “shell companies”.
“I have received money, to run my party, from those whom I had offered political consultancy, in my previous avatar, without then charging any fee. I have used the money not for myself but for building a political alternative in my home state of Bihar. I have also paid GST on the money I have raised,” said Kishor.
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