Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Member of Parliament from Purnea in Bihar, was arrested late on Friday night from his residence after a warrant was issued against him in a 31-year-old case. He had arrived in Patna late Friday evening after attending Parliament. The arrest triggered a political war of words, with senior Congress leaders in New Delhi criticising the police action and ruling NDA leaders in Bihar asking for the law to take its own course. The MP has recently been protesting in support of the family of a medical aspirant from Jehanabad district, whose alleged rape and death at a hostel in Patna sparked Statewide protests. The Bihar government has since handed over the case to the CBI.
Mr. Yadav was sent to two-day judicial custody by a court in Patna on Saturday. His lawyer Ajit Kumar said the bail plea will be heard on Monday and till then, he will be kept at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), where Mr. Yadav had checked in earlier in the day for treatment.
A six-time MP who won the last Lok Sabha poll in 2024 as an Independent, Mr. Yadav was arrested for repeated non-appearance in a 1995 case registered at Gardanibagh police station. An MP-MLA court had issued a warrant against him under Section 467 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code and cancelled his bail in July last year.
