Main accused in Samastipur trader attack case surrenders

PATNA: Rohit alias Antu Isser, an accused in the murderous attack on a scrap dealer and his family, surrendered before a Samastipur court on Wednesday.

Antu, a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) worker, surrendered before chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Deshmukh. He was sent to Samastipur district jail.

However, Antu’s brother Harshu Isser, who is also an accused in the attempt to murder case, was still evading arrest. The two brothers were charged with opening fire at railway scrap dealer Badri Goenka and his wife Sonam and their 13-year-old daughter inside their Aditi Ghosh Lane residence in the town on September 6.

Badri has been referred to Delhi for better treatment while his wife and daughter are undergoing treatment in a private hospital at Samastipur.

Samastipur additional SP Pritish Kumar said the police conducted intensive raids on his suspected hideouts leading to his surrender in the court today. “Raids are on to arrest Harshu. The SIT, which has been constituted on the SP’s directive, is already on the job,” he told this newspaper over phone.

Antu, however, claimed before the local mediapersons that he, along with his brother Harshu, had gone to Badri’s house on the fateful day to collect money from him. “Badri had promised me to return Rs17 lakh which he owed since 2013 when we parted ways in the business. In addition, he had not paid Rs26 lakh taken from me as loan,” he alleged.

Badri, however, has claimed in the FIR that Antu fired at him and his family members when he refused to give him money for election purposes.

Narrating the incident, Antu, whose name spells terror in Samastipur, said Badri tried to attack him with his revolver during the course of discussion in his house. “I reacted to the situation and fired at him with his (Badri’s) weapon causing injuries to him. His wife and daughter were attacked when they came rushing to save him,” he said on the court premises.

Antu, however, preferred to remain silent when he was told about the recovery of 13 empty cartridges from the site of occurrence. The investing officers didn’t rule out the use of two weapons simultaneously.

Antu, whose name had figured in the killing of railway contractor Akhilesh Rai and automobile showroom owner Kundan Yadav in Samastipur about a decade ago, didn’t hide his political aspirations on the occasion.

“I will contest the 2020 assembly election from Samastipur on a LJP ticket. The deal is final. I have been assured by the top leadership of the party,” he said.

LJP town unit president Umashankar Mishra corroborated Antu’s claim on the seat. “He comes from a caste which has a sizeable number of voters in the constituency. Moreover, he has been serving the party for long,” he added.

Antu’s surrender came as a big relief for the Samastipur police as they had been under attack from opposition party leaders due to deteriorating law and order situation in the district.