LJP state president Pashupati Kumar Paras at the news meet in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leaders on Sunday slammed chief minister Nitish Kumar over raids conducted at the house of the party’s national vice-president Ahmad Ashfaque Karim, also the chairman-cum-managing director of Katihar Medical College.

Addressing the media at the party office, LJP state president Pashupati Kumar Paras and national general secretary Satyanand Sharma accused the government of being anti-Muslim and demanded Karim’s release from jail.

“Nitish Kumar wants to destroy private colleges run by minorities in the state. For no reason, such institutions and people running them are being targeted,” said Paras.

On June 15, Patna senior superintendent of police Manu Maharaj raided Karim’s Ashiana-Digha road residence and nabbed him for allegedly selling question papers of the medical entrance test.

Paras added: “It is very unfortunate that a senior leader has faced such harassment. I strongly condemn the act of the Bihar government. His institution is being targeted by vested interests. The only medical college being run by a minority member has been sealed now. Nitish calls himself secular but this act has clearly exposed him.”

Karim is also the convener of the Kosi Bedari Morcha, which takes up Muslims’ issues in the Kosi belt. Karim and a clerk of the medical college, Mohammad Tanzeem, are now in Beur jail. Both have been booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and forgery in the examination and the Arms Act.

Paras said: “Just because he is with the LJP, the Nitish government is targeting him. A few days back, Kosi Bedari Morcha supporters had protested against Nitish when he was in Katihar during his Seva Yatra. So now the government is taking revenge by sending Karim behind bars.”

Attacking the government, Sharma said: “The raid was conducted because the college did not admit a few persons despite recommendations of a few influential people.”

The LJP leaders demanded a fair probe and that the police must withdraw all charges against Karim.