PATNA, Nov. 3 -- The Bihar Police arrested Janata Dal (United) candidate from Mokama, Anant Singh, along with his two aides from Bedna village on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday in connection with the murder of Dularchand Yadav, a campaigner for Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi. All the three were produced before the court, which remanded them to 14-day judicial custody at Beur central jail. This is the second time Anant singh has been arrested by the police in the last 20 years, while on two other occasions he surrendered in the court. In 2015, he was arrested before elections after being accused in the murder of Putus Yadav, an intermediate student. From jail, he contested as an independent and won by over 18,000 votes, even as the NDA performed strongly statewide. He later joined the RJD, winning again in 2020. After his conviction in an Arms Act case in 2022, his wife Neelam Devi contested the Mokama bypoll and won by 16,000 votes. With his arrest just days before the election, political observers believe history may repeat itself - turning another criminal case into a symbol of defiance for Mokama's most controversial leader. Patna District Magistrate (DM) Thiyagrajan SM and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikey Sharma held a joint press conference at 2 am on Sunday to announce the arrest of former MLA Anant Singh along with his two aides, Manikant Thakur and Ranjit Ram. The DM said that following the incident, all the license-holders of arms have been directed to submit their firearms at their concerned police stations. The development came hours after the Election Commission of India (ECI) removed the rural SP. Barh Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) and Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPO). One of the SDPO was later suspended on the directive of ECI. "Preliminary investigations suggest a riot-like situation broke out between supporters of Anant Singh and Piyush Priyadarshi. Everyone present there shares collective responsibility," said Bihar Directr General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar, adding that over 80 people have been arrested so far, and the CID and district police are jointly investigating the case. Police are also probing whether Dularchand's death was caused by an accident or it was a deliberate murder. DGP further said the post-mortem could not be done on Thursday night and was done the next day. "We wanted to know the reason behind the incident, which could only be confirmed after the post-mortem," said the DGP, adding that Dularchand had a gun injury on his leg, which could not have been the cause of his death. The doctor also said that it could not cause death, he said. Based on available evidence, everyone present at the scene of the murder would be selectively arrested. Similar, action will be taken against Jan Suraaj candidate Piyush Priyadarshi, police said. Bihar police chief said Dularchand's post-mortem report shows that he died of cardiorespiratory failure due to shock caused by injury to the heart and lungs by a hard and blunt substance. Narrating the apparent reason behind the incident, the DGP said the supporters of both the candidates were crossing each other in the convoy, and there was a dispute over whether to move the vehicle forward or backward. "After that, the two groups clashed. Hundreds of people were seen throwing stones," he added. Maintaining that the police would act on the basis of evidence. The DGP said that it was not a matter for the police as to who is fighting from which party. "Police are investigating the incident, which is not completely a blind case," he added. Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav attacked the government over the incident, asking, "It was strange that even after the murder, and the accused roamed freely until the ECI intervened. Is this good governance?" LJP(R-V) chief and Chirag Paswan said that the government was neither into protecting anyone nor into implicating anyone. "Action is taken on the basis of evidence irrespective of clout or evidence," he added. However, before his arrest, Anant Singh stayed in Mokama, even organising a massive roadshow on Saturday afternoon in his constituency. His convoy of nearly 40 cars passed in front of police stations....