RJD MP Sudhakar Singh seeks Lok Sabha Speaker’s intervention over ₹5 crore defamation notice, demands probe into allegations

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Sudhakar Singh addresses a press conference, in Patna. File. | Photo Credit: ANI The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP from Buxar constituency Sudhakar Singh has demanded Lok Sabha Speaker’s intervention over a ₹5 crore defamation notice to him by a senior Bihar police official in the case of alleged encounter of Bharat Tiwari. The MP also demanded probe into allegations made against him in the notice.Mr. Singh is one of four RJD Lok Sabha MPs, out of total 40 from Bihar, and son of former Bihar Minister in the previous RJD government, Jagdanand Singh. The other three Lok Sabha MPs from the party are Misa Bharti from Patliputra constituency, Surendra Prasad Yadav from Jehanabad constituency and Abhay Kumar Sinha from Aurangabad constituency. The three Rajya Sabha MPs from the party are Manoj Kumar Jha, Dr. Faiyaz Ahmad and Sanjay Yadav.On June 17, 2026 Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, a young man from Bilauti village of Bhojpur district, was allegedly killed by the police in an encounter and the incident had created controversy. Later Mr. Singh, RJD MP from neighbouring district of Buxar Sudhakar Singh, raised questions over the “suspicious deaths” of Tiwari by the hands of policemen belonging to Special Task Force (STF) and senior police official Kundan Krishnan, who was the Director General of STF. Later, on October 6, 2026, the police official sent a defamation notice of ₹5 crore to Mr. Singh for “false and disparaging statements” and sought a public apology within 15 days or face the ₹5 crore defamation suit.The 1994-batch IPS officer Kundan Krishnan refused to comment on the issue, when The Hindu reached out to him. The official is yet to issue any statement on the issue. Currently, he holds the position of Director General of Police, (Operations) and Special Task Force, and his name has also figured prominently for the post of next Police Chief of the State recently. He hails from Nalanda district of Bihar.Later on October 22, 2026 Mr. Singh replied to the defamatory notice of the police officer and wrote a letter to all MPs and MLAs, which he also posted on his social media handle X, confirming that he had received a legal notice for defamation on behalf of senior IPS officer Kundan Krishnan demanding a public apology, threatening a defamation lawsuit, and warning of criminal action through his advocate, “because he had raised questions in the public interest regarding the suspicious death of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari in Bilauti village of Bhojpur district and the Jamui incident [in which a video had gone viral of a minor girl and boy being harassed and molested by some people].”Mr. Singh, in his long letter, though, has asserted that he would not “bow to pressure from any position, uniform or authority”. “The public sent me to Parliament so that I could raise my voice for their rights, justice and the protection of the constitution — not to remain silent in the face of injustice”. He also demanded, “an impartial investigation” into the allegations made against him, decision-making process, communication between relevant officials and the role of [Bihar] police headquarters” and asserted further that he would “continue to raise the question of what the top-level responsibility was in this entire sequence of events” and said, further, “in my view, Kundan Krishnan’s role must also undergo an impartial investigation”.The RJD MP in the letter said that “he wants to tell Kundan Krishnan and his advocate in clear terms that he will neither apologise, nor back down from the threat of a five-crore-rupee lawsuit”.Earlier, Mr. Singh had also raised “several legal and technical errors in the defamation notice asking, “under what authority are the lawyers attempting to take a stand on behalf of the government by mention actions taken by the Bihar government?; “are the lawyers sending the notice Kundan Krishnan’s personal advocates or, the Bihar government’s official legal representatives?” ; “The notice does not present the lawyers Bar Council registration number, the client’s signature, or details of the power of attorney”, said Mr Singh. “Since the defamation notice itself contains several errors and ambiguities, we have advised Kundan Krishnan’s lawyer to first consult with their client, rectify the deficiencies in the notice, clearly state with evidence whose representation they are undertaking and then send us revised notice”.Mr Singh, later, urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to “intervene over a defamation notice sent to him by a senior IPS officer, alleging that it could be an attempt to obstruct the discharge of his duties as a Parliamentarian. If it is found so, then the matter be referred to the Privilege Committee for action.”The RJD MP had also written an open letter to Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, asking whether “the notice issued on behalf of Kundan Krishnan, DGP (Special Task Force) had the government’s approval?”Earlier in October 2022, when Sudhakar Singh was the Agriculture Minister in the previous Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) of the State government, he had hit headlines for embarrassing the then government by flagging issue of “rampant corruption” in his Department and had resigned from being the Minister. Published - October 26, 2026 12:40 pm IST