CHANDAN SINGH ARRESTED FROM KOLKATA AIRPORT

CHANDAN SINGH ARRESTED FROM KOLKATA AIRPORT

20-OCT-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA----------------------------In a major breakthrough in the sensational murder of retired Customs officer Ramkumar Singh, the Special Task Force (STF) and Bhojpur police jointly arrested the main accused, Chandan Singh, at Kolkata’s Dum Dum Airport on Monday morning. The arrest is being described as a significant success for Bihar Police in a case that had sparked widespread outrage in Arrah.

Ramkumar Singh, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Customs and president of the Kshatriya Kalyan Sangathan, was shot dead on the morning of 15 October in the Kanakpuri locality under Nawada police station in Arrah. According to police and family accounts, Singh was preparing to leave for his daily morning walk with his son Rajesh Kumar (alias Pappu). As he locked the main gate of his house after taking out the car from the garage, three motorcycle-borne assailants arrived and opened fire. Singh was hit by eight bullets. He was rushed to Sadar Hospital but succumbed to his injuries on the way.

The brutal killing triggered strong public anger. Family members, members of the Kshatriya organisation and local residents staged protests, blocked roads and demanded swift action against the perpetrators. An FIR was registered on the basis of the statement given by the victim’s son Amit Kumar (alias Goldy), naming 14 people. Among those named were the then Mufassil police station Inspector Ram Kalyan Yadav and revenue employee Vishnu Dev Singh. Inspector Yadav was later suspended on allegations of collusion. Police had earlier arrested one accused, Manoj Singh (alias Lucky), a YouTube journalist.

The case is widely believed to be linked to a land dispute involving around 13–14 katha of land near Singhi More. Family members claimed that attempts were being made to grab the property, that boundary walls had been demolished, and that threats to life had been issued earlier. The victim had reportedly submitted complaints in this regard.

Following the arrest of Chandan Singh, his wife Chandni Singh and the accused himself have come out with strong counter-claims through social media videos. In a Facebook Live that went viral, Chandan Singh maintained that he had no connection with the murder. He claimed he had legally purchased the disputed land about one-and-a-half years earlier and possessed valid documents. He further stated that he had left for West Bengal four or five days before the incident to celebrate Dussehra and alleged that attempts were being made to frame him and his wife due to political influence and personal enmity. Chandni Singh, in a separate video, said she had been staying at her parental home for nearly three months and was not in Bihar. Both have demanded a fair and impartial investigation from Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, the Bhojpur Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate.

Bhojpur SP Awadhesh Dixit has confirmed the arrest. Police are now questioning Chandan Singh to unravel the motive, the role of other accused, and the exact circumstances of the crime. CCTV footage from the area had earlier shown three suspicious persons on a motorcycle, and forensic teams have been examining evidence collected from the scene.

While the victim’s family continues to seek justice for what they describe as a cold-blooded assassination, the main accused and his wife insist they are being framed. The investigation is ongoing, and further details are expected to emerge as police dig deeper into the land dispute, the alleged threats, and the larger conspiracy behind the killing of the retired officer.