'Tainted' Bihar minister Kartik Kumar shifted to sugarcane department

Patna, Aug 31: In a significant development, RJD's Kartik Kumar, who was given the law portfolio earlier in the month, was shifted to the sugarcane department amid the ongoing row over his alleged involvement in a criminal case. Elected to the Legislative Council in April, he is considered close to don-turned-politician Anant Singh who was disqualified as an MLA after being convicted in an arms case.

Shamim Ahmad, also an RJD leader, replaced Kumar as the law minister, a notification issued by the state Cabinet Secretariat Department said. Ahmad held the sugarcane portfolio before his elevation.

The opposition BJP had been demanding Kumar's removal from the cabinet, alleging that an arrest warrant was pending against him in a 2014 kidnapping case.

In connection with the kidnapping of a person named Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Kartik Kumar was charged under IPC Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 363 (kidnapping), 364 (kidnapping in order to murder) and 365. On February 16, 2017, the Allahabad High Court, comprising Justice Sanjay Priya dismissed the RJD leader's anticipatory bail petition, citing that the victim had fully described the role played by him during his kidnapping.

The Congress and CPI-ML (Liberation), constituents of the ruling Grand Alliance, had also asked the Nitish Kumar government to reconsider the decision of inducting Kartik Kumar into the cabinet.