Ranvir Sena founder-chief arrested

The Bihar Police today arrested Ranvir Sena founder and chief Brahmeshwar Singh Mukhiya, who is allegedly behind some of the biggest massacr...

The Bihar Police today arrested Ranvir Sena founder and chief Brahmeshwar Singh Mukhiya, who is allegedly behind some of the biggest massacres in the state.

Singh, a post-graduate in political science from Patna University, was arrested from the India Missionary Building in central Patna by a three-member task force.

	BLOODY TRAIL
* Mianpur, June 22, 2000: 36 killed * Narayanpur, February 10, 1999: 12 killed * Sankar Bigha, January 25, 1999: 23 killed * Lakshmanpur Bathe, November 30, 1997: 61 killed, including 16 children and 27 women * Harbaspura, March 1997: 10 killed * Ekwari, December 24 1996: 6 killed * Khanet, December 12, 1996: 5 killed * Bathani Tola, July 11, 1996: 21 killed * Noraur, April 12, 1996: 5 killed * Sarathnah, July 25 1995: 6 killed Story continues below this ad

‘‘This is a great achievement for the Bihar police. He has been caught after seven years and is the mastermind behind major massacres that have taken place,’’ said Senior SP Sunil Kumar.

The Ranvir Sena is a private army of upper-caste landowners that has been battling the Naxalites since 1994. Singh, who has eluded arrest over the years, is wanted in more than 25 massacres.

At a press conference arranged by the police, the 55-year-old Ranvir Sena leader told newspersons that his fight would continue. Wearing a crumpled dhoti-kurta and looking tired, Singh denied that he had admitted to the police that he was responsible for the killings.

‘‘I’m not involved in any of the cases cited by the police,’’ Singh claimed, adding that his arrest would no way hamper the cause of the Ranvir Sena.

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However, at a press conference in a lawyer’s chamber last year, Singh had justified the killings and told newspersons that he had no regrets about the various massacres.

The senior SP said Singh, an accused in 36 criminal cases with a Rs 5 lakh reward on his head, would be interrogated further at a later stage. The State Government is also considering booking him under POTA.

Singh is the prime accused in the 1996 Laxmanpur Bathe massacre of 61 Dalits as well as the Mianpur carnage of 34 people. Three years back, he was detained by the Patna police but was let off after the police failed to identify him.

The Ranvir Sena was formed in August 1994 to champion the cause of the landlords and provide protection to their lands from Naxalites, including the Peoples War Group. It came into being in Khopra after a skirmish between the CPI-ML and landlords in the area. At that time, Singh was the mukhiya of the panchayat. The Ranvir Sena then spread throughout Bihar.