Patna, April 29: A joint team of police and excise officials raided the Shikarpur, West Champaran house of Congress MLA Vinay Verma for an hour last midnight to arrest him, prompting his furious party colleagues and his lawyer to allege that Bihar was turning into an authoritarian state where anyone can be hounded without proof.

Vinay has been traceless since two FIRs were lodged against him after a television channel sting purportedly showed him boasting to journalists that he could arrange liquor in Bihar, under the grip of total prohibition since April 5. The Telegraph has not independently verified the veracity of the footage.

Congress leaders said Vinay was being made a scapegoat to show that the government is serious about the liquor ban. They pointed out that even in the purported sting, nowhere is the MLA seen with liquor.

"The authorities are treating Vinay as if he has committed some heinous crime like rape or murder," said senior Congress MLA Ashok Kumar. "This is complete highhandedness and is objectionable. I know him to be a responsible person with a clean background. He hails from a good family. It seems the state government is trying to show that it has caught some big fish and is trying to scare people."

Bihar Congress Legislature Party leader Sadanand Singh told The Telegraph: "Whatever is happening is not right. We condemn the raids at the Shikarpur house of our Narkatiaganj MLA. I am coming to Patna, and will protest all this. Vinay is a gentleman. He has no criminal record. A conspiracy is going on to implicate him falsely, without any proof against him, and to defame him. There could be no sense behind raiding his house at midnight."

Sadanand, a nine-time MLA from Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur, saw double standards in the scramble to nab Vinat.

"I am a Dalit, and was attacked in 2009," Sadanand said. "I filed a case too, but the state government has not done anything so far. Why? Is somebody trying to show his manliness in Vinay's case?"

When contacted, Narkatiaganj excise superintendent Rakesh Kumar said the raid "was a follow-up action after FIRs on the legislator. We had gone there to arrest him, but he was not found at his house. The police were with us as we had requested them to accompany us. Only the caretaker was present. None of the MLA's family members were there. His premises had been searched earlier."

The cops, however, are yet to get the video of the sting.

"We have requested the in-charge of the TV channels concerned to provide us the footage of the sting operation," said Bettiah (West Champaran) superintendent of police (SP) Vinay Kumar. "It will be sent to police's Forensic Science Laboratory in the state capital for analysis and expert opinion about its authenticity. This is part of the investigation process."

The MLA's lawyer Satyavrat Verma claimed there has been no investigation.

"There is no proof against Vinay Verma," he said. "The veracity of the sting operation has not been probed till now. The midnight raids show that the authorities are treating him as a criminal, and that Bihar is turning into an authoritarian state. All acquaintances of Vinay know that he doesn't drink. The entire episode is a violation of Article 19 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech. Vinay's comments, even if found true, prima facie do not constitute any offence. They have not led to any harm to anybody, and the entire action by the excise and police departments is just based on assumptions."

The advocate said bail pleas on behalf of the legislator would be filed tomorrow.

Additional reporting by Umakant Prasad Varma