FIR against mayor’s husband, 15 others for organised crime

Motihari: Police on Monday evening registered a case against RJD functionary Deva Gupta, husband of Motihari mayor Priti Gupta, and 15 others on charges of running organised crime, illegal land dealings, extortion and fraud in East Champaran district. The accused are alleged to have amassed substantial wealth through criminal means in a short span.This is the district's first case officially registered under organised crime. The complaint was filed by ward commissioner Dheeraj Gupta against Deva Gupta, mayor Priti Gupta, known criminal Rahul Mukhiya, Niraj Singh, Mantu Singh, Sugandh Gupta and others.East Champaran SP Swarn Prabhat said, "I have written to the Economic Offences Unit in Patna to take over the investigation." He added that the assistant registrar of Motihari has also been named for allegedly flouting registration rules to aid the accused.Eight companies linked to Deva Gupta are under scrutiny for using criminal influence to facilitate illegal land transactions. A special investigation team (SIT) led by ASP Shivam Dhakar has been constituted for a probe.The SP said 26 criminal cases, including those of murder, are already registered against Deva Gupta and his associates. "Raids are on to arrest the accused. We have recovered 25 documents and 80 property deeds, now under examination," he said.Police sources said a prominent jewellery shop owner and other influential people have been identified during the probe.