Bokaro, Feb 10 An illegal building in Bokaro, Jharkhand, allegedly constructed by jailed strongman Vinod Kumar alias Vinod Khopdi, was demolished on Tuesday, police said.
The structure, which allegedly stood on land belonging to the Bokaro Steel Plant, was being used by Kumar as his residence-cum-office, he said.
Kumar is the mayoral candidate of the Chas Municipal Corporation, where elections will be held, along with 47 other civic bodies, on February 27. Civic polls in Jharkhand are held without party affiliations.
DSP (Bokaro City) Alok Ranjan said the existence of the building came to light during the investigation into the murder of one Jayant Singh, in which Kumar is the prime accused and is currently lodged in jail.
"All due legal procedures were followed before the demolition. Kumar was served notice and given a week to vacate the building, but it was not vacated," he said.
Kumar's supporters described the demolition drive by the Bokaro Steel Plant and the police as politically motivated.
They alleged that Kumar's rivals exerted pressure on the administration and the steel plant authorities to get the building demolished, fearing his victory in the civic polls.
They also claimed that he was falsely implicated in the murder case and that the demolition was part of a conspiracy to derail his campaign.