Patna, Jun 15: Celebrated Patna-based tutor and social media influencer Faisal Khan, better known as ‘Khan Sir’, was on Monday accused by his rival Raushan Anand of having orchestrated the “murder” of his brother Prince Yadav, who has died under mysterious circumstances in Nepal.
Anand made the sensational claim soon after being released on bail in connection with the vandalism that took place at one of the coaching centres run by Khan earlier this month.
“Patna police arrested me on the basis of a false complaint by Khan. While I was in jail, he got my brother murdered. I seek justice for Prince,” Anand told reporters.
The Bihar police was tight-lipped over the death of Prince in Nepal’s Biratnagar, about which conflicting reports have appeared in the media.
Some of these reports claimed that Yadav had “escaped” to Nepal, fearing his own arrest in connection with the attack on Khan’s premises, and was found dead at a Biratnagar hotel.
Some other reports suggested that Yadav was wounded in retaliatory fire by Khan’s bodyguards here on June 3, and he succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Biratnagar, more than 300 km away, where close aides had rushed him fearing further retribution from his brother’s rival.
Khan, who could not be traced since an FIR was lodged against him upon the statement of one of his injured bodyguards that they had opened fire under pressure from their influential boss, came out with a video message debunking the allegations.
“I am saddened by the news of the death of Prince Yadav. I offer my condolences to his brother Raushan Anand, though he is levelling false charges against me,” said Khan.
Nonetheless, Anand insisted that Khan be made to undergo a “narco test”, which would ascertain culpability.
The muckracking between the two fierce rivals continued even as the court, which granted bail to Anand, urged them to have “healthy competition”.
Senior advocate Ramakant Sharma, who was leading the team of lawyers for Anand, told PTI video, that the additional chief judicial magistrate granted bail to his client, “accepting our contention that he was not present at the site of the incident”.
“The court also noted that both parties happen to be teachers and must behave in a manner that is appropriate. Their conduct must not be such as that of criminals,” Sharma said.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, who hails from Bihar and was in the state capital, said, “We used to hear terms like coaching mafia. Now it is on full display. Let law take its own course.”
JD(U) leader and minister Sunil Kumar, who held the Education portfolio in the previous Nitish Kumar government, told reporters that the police were investigating the entire matter, including the death of Prince Yadav, and all the guilty persons will be brought to book.
RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, waded into the controversy and shot off a letter to Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, urging that the entire matter be handed over to the CBI.
“Serious allegations and counter-allegations from both sides raise serious questions about the style of functioning of the police and the government. The matter should be handed over to the CBI for a thorough investigation”, said Yadav, in the letter that he shared on social media.
He added, “Rivalry between Khan and Raushan Anand has led to incidents of violence in the recent past. Things have become more alarming with the mysterious death, in Nepal, of the brother of Raushan Anand”.
The RJD leader’s elder brother Tej Pratap, who was expelled from the party last year and has since been running Janshakti Janata Dal, was characteristically blunt when he told reporters, “I have no trust in Khan. My support is for Raushan Anand. And I demand an inquiry into the alleged role of Khan in the murder of Prince”. (PTI)
