A tractor-trailer leaves Sadhu Yadav’s house in Patna after officials went there to get the bungalow vacated in Patna. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, May 12: Friday the thirteenth it will be.

Tomorrow, Sadhu and Subhash Yadav, both MPs and brothers of former chief minister Rabri Devi, will finally vacate the official bungalows they have been occupying for years. So will Union ministers Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav and Akhilesh Singh.

That was the assurance a team of magistrates, with some two dozen policemen in tow, got at the mansions of Laloo Prasad Yadav’s brothers-in-law when they went there to get the prime properties vacated.

But not before high drama was enacted at both premises, as the police guards at the gates would not let the eviction team enter because their “sahibs” were away in Delhi attending Parliament.

The bungalows ? 10 Janpath of Sadhu and 3 Desh Ratna Marg of Subhash ? are located on roads flanking 1 Anne Marg, where Rabri Devi continues to stay in her capacity as a former chief minister. So does her husband Laloo Prasad, who stays in an “inter-connected” bungalow.

The straight hand of the law wilted by considerable degrees because the officers were highly reluctant to act tough in evicting the “illegal” occupants who, till recently, were among the most powerful people in Bihar.

The wait at Sadhu’s place was worth a clean three hours and the policemen kept sitting in their vehicles outside. “Why doesn’t he (magistrate) give us orders to enter? We can get it vacated within minutes,” said a policeman. After prolonged persuasion, the magistrates were allowed inside, followed soon by a tractor-trailer.

The media teams also made use of the opportunity and entered the gate but the magistrates pleaded with the reporters to wait outside. “He (Sadhu) is still in official possession of this house. It is unfair for you to come in,” S.N. Pandey, the magistrate on duty, said.

A sofa and a few chairs were loaded on to the tractor and the vehicle left for an unknown destination. “This house will be in the government’s possession by tomorrow. That is the assurance we have got. We have orders to get these bungalows vacated at the earliest,” the magistrate explained.

Sadhu’s usual horde of supporters was missing from the scene. But most vehicles moving on the road to the airport slowed down to capture the moment ? among the rarest of the rare here.

Governor Buta Singh had recently issued orders that all official bungalows in the “unauthorised” possession of politicians should be vacated irrespective of the fact that the occupant, if he/she happens to be an MP, has not been allocated a house in Delhi. Patna High Court also took a strong view of the matter.

By 2.45 pm, the scene shifted to Subhash’s bungalow. At least three officials of the district administration approached the closed gate. The guards on the other side refused to open it despite repeated requests.

“Nobody is home. Come tomorrow,” said one of the guards. But the magistrate shot back, “Gate to kholna hi hoga (You will have to open the gate anyway). Call someone from inside. We have orders to get this house vacated.”

After 15 minutes, a youth in khadi came to the gate and let the three officers in. One of the magistrates said he was made to speak to Subhash over the telephone. “Subhashji has promised to hand over the keys tomorrow morning. We have got similar assurances from Akhilesh Singh and Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav. Our duty often puts us in difficult situations like this,” he said.

While Sadhu has been occupying the Janpath bungalow for eight years, 3 Desh Ratna Marg has been in the possession of Subhash for five years.