BJP alleges PFI behind Bihar party leader's murder, warns of state-wide stir

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday alleged that the Popular Front of India was behind the murder of its leader in Bihar's Katihar, and warned of a state-wide agitation to press the demand for a crackdown on the alleged culprits.

BJP MLC and former minister Samrat Chaudhary drove down to Katihar to condole the death of Sanjiv Mishra, who was shot dead on Monday, triggering violent protests from his supporters who vandalised a police outpost.

Although the police officials were tight-lipped about the progress in the investigation, local MP Dulal Chandra Goswami, who belongs to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United, said, "I have spoken to the SP. Three persons have been rounded up for questioning. The matter is being probed from all possible angles."

However, Chaudhary alleged that the murder was the "handiwork of PFI".

"Sanjeev Mishra was strengthening BJP's presence in this sensitive district bordering West Bengal. This had made him an eyesore for the Islamic fundamentalist body," he said.

"We have learnt that the three suspects held by the police are actively associated with PFI. They were involved in another attempt on Mishra's life several months ago. The police did not act against them which emboldened them," alleged the BJP leader.

Announcing that a district-wide bandh was being organised in protest against the killing, Chaudhary said that if no headway is made in the investigation within 48 hours, there will be a state-wide stir.

Notably, the BJP often claims that the CM's exit from the National Democratic Alliance and the recent crackdown on the PFI in Bihar by the National Investigation Agency has made him jittery about the prospect of losing "his vote bank".

Meanwhile, state BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand issued a statement demanding that the registration of all madrasas and mosques in the state, which were sympathetic towards the PFI, be cancelled.

He also demanded that the state government make it mandatory for all mosques and madrasas to get registered by the competent authority.

"The state's new law minister Shamim Ahmed has been taking a lot of interest in ensuring proper registration of Hindu temples and monasteries. He should focus on mosques and madrasas as well," added Anand.