Ara: Brajesh Mishra, who carries an award of Rs 50,000 on his head and is one of the main accused in the murder of the BJP state vice-president Bisheshwar Ojha, gave the slip to Bhojpur police on Sunday evening.

Ojha's murder had created a big political upheaval in the state as the slain BJP leader was a candidate in the 2015 Assembly polls.

Ojha faced several criminal cases.

Bhojpur superintendent of police (SP) Awakash Kumar said he had received information that Brajesh Mishra had come to his village at Sonbarsha under the jurisdiction of Karnamepur police outpost.

He immediately sent a police force under Jagdishpur assistant SP Majeet Kumar to conduct raids on his house but Mishra slipped away.

The police launched a search operation in the village for about five hours. The police recovered a pistol and five live cartridges of 12 calibre.

The SP said BJP state vice-president Bisheshwar Ojha of Ojhwalia village was gunned down at Sonbarsha village on February 12, 2016, when he was going to attend a marriage ceremony.

A named FIR was lodged with the police under Karnamepur police station against eight people, including Brajesh and his brother, Haresh, the sons of Shiv Ji Mishra.

The state government had announced an award of Rs 50,000 on the heads of each of the Mishra brothers.

Patna police had arrested Haresh from Howrah in Bengal on December 25, 2016, and is now in Ara jail but his brother Brajesh is still at large. Even Shiv Ji and another of his sons, Krishna, are also in the jail.