A retired IPS officer has accused Bihar minister Leshi Singh of possessing sophisticated weapons such as AK-47, AK-56 and Self Loading Rifle (SLR).

Amitabh Kumar Das, a 1994 batch IPS officer, has written a letter to Bihar DGP SK Singhal, urging him to immediately conduct raids on different locations to recover the weapons.

Leshi Singh has been recently appointed the food and consumer affairs minister in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government.

"Keeping these weapons is a serious criminal offence. Only armed forces and police departments are entitled to procure such weapons," he said.

"I have specific information about Leshi Singh keeping a huge cache of arms and ammunition like AK-47, AK-56, SLR in her various known and unknown houses. These weapons could be sent to Nepal if raids are not conducted in time," Das said.

Asked how he knew about the weapons, he said: "I have trusted informers in all the districts who provide information from time to time.

"Leshi Singh has a criminal background. Her husband Butan Singh was a dreaded gangster of Purnea. He was known for terror in Seemanchal region. He was facing murder, kidnapping, extortion charges. He was gunned down in April 2000 during a court appearance in Purnea. After that, Leshi Singh took over the gang and she kept the weapons as well," Das said.

Butan Singh was a childhood friend of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

During 1997-1998, when the JD-U was known as Samata Party, Nitish Kumar was its president, and he had appointed Butan Singh as district president of the Samata party.

"This is enough to establish the proximity between Butan Singh and CM Nitish Kumar and it has been continuing at present as well with Leshi Singh being given a berth in the second cabinet expansion of the government," Das said.