Bihar: Gangster's kin held; AK-47, huge cache of ammunition seized

Patna, April 7 (IANS) In a major breakthrough, the Bhojpur Police, in collaboration with the Bihar Special Task Force (STF), arrested a close aide and kin of dreaded gangster Butan Choudhary and seized a large cache of arms and ammunition during a joint raid conducted on Monday.

The operation was carried out at Belaur village under Udwant Nagar police station limits, considered a stronghold of criminal activities.

The primary target of the raid, Butan Choudhary, who carries a bounty of Rs 2 lakh on his head, managed to evade arrest and is currently on the run.

“We have arrested Upendra Choudhary, Butan’s brother, under multiple sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita. He has been taken into custody, and intensive efforts are underway to trace and arrest Butan Choudhary,” said Raj, SP of Bhojpur, speaking to the media.

“During the raid conducted at the house of Butan Chaudhary, an AK-47 assault rifle, two magazines of AK-47, 43 live cartridges of AK-47, two hand grenades, and two magazines of INSAS rifle have been recovered from his house,” Raj said.

The arrest and seizure are being termed as one of the biggest recent successes of the Bhojpur Police, which is intensifying its crackdown on organised crime in the region.

Upendra Choudhary, the arrested individual, is the husband of Urmila Devi, the Mukhiya of Belaur Panchayat, a post that underscores the family's significant local influence.

The police have hinted that further legal action may follow, as investigations continue into the extent of criminal involvement and possession of illegal materials.

Belaur village is historically infamous for its association with the late Brahmeshwar Singh Mukhiya, the chief of the upper-caste militia Ranveer Sena, which was active during the 1990s and linked to numerous violent incidents in Bihar’s caste conflict-ridden past.

Authorities are continuing raids across nearby areas in a bid to nab the absconding gangster and dismantle any criminal infrastructure linked to him.

--IANS

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