Rupauli MLA Bima Bharti. Telegraph picture

Rupauli MLA Bima Bharti on Thursday accused her estranged husband Awdhesh Mandal of kidnapping her personal secretary Santosh Mandal.

The secretary went missing on Tuesday evening while returning to his Vijay Lalganj village after escorting Bharti to her home in Bhitta village, 385km nothwest of Patna. Santosh’s mother Rekha Devi is the mukhiya of Vijay Lalganj, 10km from Bhitta.

Bharti lodged an FIR at Bhawanipur police station on Thursday, accusing her husband, the head of the Bhawanipur block, of kidnapping Santosh.

“Awdhesh is jealous of Santosh. He does not want Santosh to look after my political and personal affairs and would often threaten him. Awdhesh has also threatened Santosh’s mother,” said Bharti, a JD(U) leader.

She had filed for divorce from Awdhesh on September 1 last year; the case is pending in a local court. She had also accused him of poisoning their 10-year-old son Raja in October. Awdhesh was arrested and later released on bail in December.

Bharti was all praise for Santosh, whom she described as a “bold and daring person.”

“He was not scared of the threats from Awdhesh, who wants to adversely affect my political career.

“Santosh managed my affairs very well. He is very prudent. He conducted public meetings and managed welfare schemes on my behalf, ” she said.

Police have detained Awdhesh but refused to comment on the progress of the investigation.

“A missing case has been lodged and we are trying to find the JD(U) leader’s personal secretary,” Dhamdaha sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Sujit Kumar Prabhat said. He added that raids were on to recover Santosh.

But the JD(U) leader has alleged that the police were initially reluctant to cooperate with her in the case.

“When I first went to lodge an FIR naming Awdhesh Mandal and his associates, the police refused to register the case. I then approached the SDPO,” Bharti said.

SDPO Prabhat said the case was sensitive and the police were not naming those involved in the case yet. “We expect a breakthrough in a day or two. It is too early to comment on whether or not Awdhesh Mandal is responsible. The probe is on and everything will be clear very soon,” he said.