Bihar MP Pappu Yadav arrested in 1995 land dispute case, hospitalised

The police in Patna on Friday arrested independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, in connection with a 31-year-old case pertaining to a land dispute, The Indian Express reported.

Yadav was arrested late on Friday after a tense exchange between the police and his supporters at his Mandiri residence in Patna. Following his arrest, the MP from Purnea was shifted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital on Saturday after his health deteriorated, ANI reported.

Later on Saturday, Yadav was sent to two days in judicial custody by a Patna court, PTI reported. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court said that the MP’s petition for bail will be heard on Monday, adding that he will remain in hospital for treatment till then.

The police arrested Yadav based on a warrant issued by a special MP-MLA court after he failed to appear in trial proceedings despite repeated summons, The Indian Express quoted unidentified police officers as saying.

The case from 1995 had been filed under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code at the Gardanibagh police station and pertained to allegations of cheating and misuse of a rented property.

Patna City Superintendent of Police (Central) Bhanu Pratap Singh told the newspaper that a “trial was underway on court orders, and the MP was required to be present but did not appear on the scheduled date”.

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Karrtikeya Sharma told reporters that the police had gone to Yadav’s home to produce him before the court on Saturday, The Hindu reported.

The Indian Express quoted unidentified officials as saying that the case was based on a complaint by a person who alleged that his house had been rented for personal use but was through deception later converted into a political office.

The matter had been under judicial consideration for several years, the officials were quoted as saying, adding that the MP-MLA court had recently issued orders for the property to be attached.

A warrant had been subsequently issued against Yadav because of non-appearance.

The Purnea MP was arrested on Friday shortly after he returned to Patna from Delhi at about 11 pm after attending Parliament.

A large contingent of police officers reached his residence and showed the warrant, The Indian Express reported. But Yadav was quoted as having claimed that only papers related to the property attachment were shown to him.

He claimed that the arrest was “politically motivated”.

Yadav also expressed concerns about his safety, ANI reported.

“I have doubts that these people might have killed me,” the news agency quoted him as claiming. “I will go straight to the court. I will not go to the police station. If they want, they can house arrest me.”

Amid the standoff, some of his supporters climbed on top of the police vehicles and shouted slogans.

After he was arrested around midnight, Yadav was taken for a medical examination to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, The Indian Express reported. But he was brought to the Patna Medical College and Hospital on a stretcher on Saturday morning.

Arrested for questioning student’s death, alleges Yadav

On social media, Yadav alleged that the action against him had been taken in retaliation for questioning the recent death of a National Eligibility cum Entrance Test aspirant in Patna.

NEET is a qualifying test for undergraduate courses in medical and dental colleges across India. It is conducted by the National Testing Agency.

The NEET aspirant was found unconscious in her hostel room in the city’s Chitragupt Nagar area in January, The Week reported. She died on January 11 at a hospital after being in a coma for several days.

Her parents have alleged sexual assault and a subsequent cover-up, leading the state government to recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the case.

Yadav has been raising the death of the student, questioning the role of the hostel management, hospital systems and the police, The Indian Express reported. He had also met the student’s family in Jehanabad.

On Friday, the Purnea MP claimed that the timing of his arrest was linked to his criticism of the state government.

“We fought the battle for justice for the NEET student girl, Bihar Police got a stomach ache,” Yadav said on social media. “They came to the Patna residence to arrest us. But this won’t make Pappu Yadav bow down or stay silent…Send us to jail or give us the noose, Pappu will not stop.”

The police rejected the allegations, saying that the action was legal and in accordance with the court order.

‘Political vendetta’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday described Yadav’s arrest as an act of “political vendetta”, alleging that the action was linked to him demanding accountability in the NEET case.

“The death of a NEET aspirant in Patna under suspicious circumstances and the entire action that followed has once again exposed the deep rot in the system,” the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said on social media.

Yadav, while an independent MP, had merged his Jan Adhikar Party with the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

The Congress leader said that when the girl’s family demanded a fair investigation and justice, the “same old BJP-NDA [Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance] model came to the fore – divert the case, harass the family members and give the criminals the protection of power”.

Gandhi added that Yadav had stood firmly as the “voice of justice” for the girl.

“His arrest today is clearly a political vendetta to intimidate and suppress any voice demanding accountability,” the Congress MP said.

He added: “The most worrying fact is that this phenomenon does not appear to be limited to a single case. This points to a sinister conspiracy and a dangerous pattern, where more daughters are becoming victims and the powers that be are turning a blind eye to this horrific truth.”