Ara court convicts 5 accused for possessing AK 47, other firearms

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : Additional District and Sessions Judge VI, Ara, Tribhuwan Yadav, convicted five accused : Butan Chaudhary, his brother Upendra Chaudhary, Kariman Chaudhary, son of Upendra Chaudhary, Gyani Ram, driver of Butan Chaudhary, and Sudhir Pandey, on January, 28, 2019, for possessing AK 47 and other firearms and said that the quantum of punishment would be announced on January 30, 2019.

The then SHO, Udwantnagar police station in Bhojpur district, Rajiv Kumar, along with other police officials arrested notorious criminal Butan Chaudhary when he came to his village Belaur under Udwantnagar police station on March 4, 2016, and seized AK-47 and one .315 caliber rifle, three countrymade pistols, 29 live cartridges of AK 47, 16 live cartridges of rifle, and 10 live cartridges of pistols and a Bolero from the possession of the named accused. A named FIR was lodged with Udwantnagar police station under Arms Act. Police filed chargesheet against them on March 23, 2017.

Butan Chaudhary has a long criminal history and is a terror in Udwantnagar and adjoining areas. Over a dozen cases of murder and extortion are pending against him in Bhojpur, Patna and other districts. A long-drawn violent clash between Butan Chaudhary and his friend turned enemy Ranjeet Chaudhary claimed over a dozen lives in the area but Butan Chaudahry was never arrested.

Butan Chaudhary ran a parallel government at his native village Udwantnagar and got elected Mukhias of his panchayat several times. In 2016 panchayat election, daughter-in-law of Butan Chaudhary and sister-in-law (bhabhi) of Ranjeet Chaudhary were candidates but Butan Chaudhary was determined to get his daughter-in-law elected and so he moved in the village with AK47. On March 4, 2016, he had come to the village with the view to terrorising the voters but police arrested him for the first time along with his four associates and firearms and sent them to jail though Butan Chaudhary succeeded in getting his daughter-in-law elected even after his arrest.

Ara jail administration had shifted him to the Beur Central Jail, Patna, to maintain law and order in Ara jail and he was brought over to Ara from the Beur jail on January 28, 2019, for being presented before the court.