Patna, May 22: A custody warrant reached Beur Central Jail in Patna three-and-a-half hours after former RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav walked free on Tuesday.

The Purnea don-turned politician should probably thank his stars, but the timing has raised many an eyebrow. A custody warrant is issued against those already jailed.

The warrant relates to a case of Pappu and his supporters allegedly assaulting and threatening jailor Amarjeet Singh in February. The jailor had lodged an FIR with Beur police station.

Pappu was released around 12.15 pm on Tuesday after a Patna high court order acquitted him and two others in CPM MLA Ajit Sarkar’s murder case. Beur prison officials received the custody warrant order in the jailor assault case around 3.30 pm.

Beur central jail superintendent Shivendra Priyadarshi said, “Had the warrant reached earlier, the release (of Pappu) would have been delayed. But the order of the court arrived much later.”

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaj said the concerned court issued its order a bit late. “Under such circumstances we didn’t have any choice,” he said.

Though the high court division bench, comprising justice V N Singh and K K Lal, absolved Pappu, Rajan Tiwari and Anil Kumar Yadav of all charges in the Ajit Sarkar murder case on Friday, it took three days to complete the legal formalities for his release from prison.

Beur police SHO Mukhlal Paswan was clueless about the custody warrant. “It would be better to talk to the investigating officer in the case. I am in the dark and have no clue,” he told The Telegraph.