Bihar elections: Election commission shake-up in Patna after Dularchand's murder

PATNA: Election commission ordered Saturday a reshuffle in Patna district's administration, transferring SP (rural) Vikram Sihag and replacing three key officers in Barh sub-division after the killing of gangster-turned-politician Dularchand Yadav during campaigning in Mokama.

The postmortem report revealed Yadav, though hit by a bullet near the ankle, died of cardiorespiratory failure caused by crushing injuries to his heart and lungs after being allegedly run over by a vehicle.

Police have file four FIRs related to the killing and subsequent clashes. So far, 35 people have been arrested, and police said video footage is being used to identify remaining suspects.

EC directed Bihar's chief electoral officer to send "a panel of officers for posting a substitute in Sihag's place urgently". It also replaced SDO Barh-cum-returning officer Chandan Kumar, SDPO Barh-1 Rakesh Kumar, and SDPO Barh-2 Abhishek Singh, ordering Singh's immediate suspension.

Ashish Kumar, a 2022-batch IAS officer serving as additional municipal commissioner in Patna, has been appointed SDO Barh-cum-returning officer of Mokama. Two SHOs - Madhusudan Kumar (Ghoswari) and Raviranjan (Bhadaur) - were also suspended for failing to prevent the violence.