'Not aware of this': CM Nitish Kumar on kidnapping case against Bihar's law minister Kartik Master

An official said on Wednesday that Kartikeya Singh, the law minister in Bihar’s new Nitish-led government, seems to be in jeopardy after he avoided presenting himself to a court or police regarding a kidnapping case.

In the Patna district, Kartik Master, a close friend of Bahubali leader Anant Singh of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, is accused of kidnapping. A case in this connection was recorded at the Bihta police station in 2014 (Case number (835/14). The arrest warrant was released in the first week of August, and until August 16, when he swore an oath as a cabinet member in the Nitish Kumar administration and received the charge for the law ministry, he had to appear in court or with the police.

What is the kidnapping case?

According to the allegations made against him, he is linked to the 2014 kidnapping of Rajiv Ranjan, for which the Bihta police station filed a FIR. In a statement made in court according to CrPC 164, the victim identified Kartik Master by name. In addition to this case, Kartik Master is charged with criminal offences at the Mokama railway police station and other police stations in Patna and surrounding areas.

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In response, Kartik Master said that "The allegations levelled against me are politically influenced and not proved yet. We will take action as per the law."

At the same time, CM Nitish Kumar said that he is not aware of this. "I am not aware of this," CM Nitish Kumar told reporters. RJD Bahubali leader Anant Singh's political strategist is Kartik Master. He has been working with Anant Singh since the beginning of 2000 and was very important to Anant Singh in the 2005 Assembly election. He recently won the RJD party 's candidacy for MLC while working as a teacher.

Nikhil Anand, national general secretary of the BJP's OBC wing, responded to it and said that the Nitish Kumar administration's council of ministers is painting a very bleak picture. The safety and security of the Bihar population cannot be guaranteed by these people.

"How come a person hides the fact that he is wanted in a kidnapping case and takes oath as a law minister of Bihar. It is very shameful for Nitish Kumar to have succumbed to the pressure of RJD," Nikhil Anand added.

(With inputs from IANS)