Patna, Jan. 4: Accusations of crime against women have been levelled against Bihar politicians time and again.

The murder of BJP MLA Rajkishore Keshari by Rupam Pathak, who claimed that Keshari and his personal assistant Vivek Rai had raped her, has set the tongues wagging once again.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad was quick to point out that MLAs should keep a safe distance from certain people.

Although deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi defended Keshari, calling Rupam a blackmailer, old-timers recall a number of incidents that had rocked politics in Bihar in the past.

In the 1980s, Shwetnisha Trivedi, a telephone operator in the secretariat, was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Rumours were rife that political heavyweights were behind the murder of Trivedi, also known as Bobby.

The then Patna superintendent of police, Kishore Kunal, had got the body of Shwetnisha exhumed for investigation and there was speculation that a senior politician would be arrested. But no one was arrested and Kunal was transferred out of Patna.

“The unfortunate death of Bobby was later used as a tool to stall the promotion of a senior Congress leader to the position of chief minister,” said a veteran politician.

Janata Dal MLA Yogendra Narayan Sardar paid a price when he tried to rape a Dalit girl in the 1990s — he was castrated by the victim in self-defence.

The case came to light when Sardar underwent treatment in Patna. Former chief minister Rabri Devi gave an award to the girl.

The body of Shilpi Jain and her boyfriend Gautam Singh were found in a garage in Patna in 1999. The grapevine was abuzz with suggestions that RJD ministers were involved in the crime.

But nothing happened in this case, too. The CBI closed the case, concluding that the two had committed suicide.

Reports of politicians and ministers having extramarital affairs are common. Some have been accused of polygamy, others of adultery.

Even senior socialist leader Karpoori Thakur could not escape the charge that he was having a relation with a Nepalese woman, in the 1970s. “In the 1970s, a lady had become so influential that she used to call the shots,” said a former MLA.

The wife of a minister in the NDA-I government had accused her husband of having an extramarital affair with a social worker. She had lodged an FIR in the secretariat police station but later withdrew the charges. The minister was dropped from cabinet.

One consequence of today’s murder appears to be enhanced security for legislators. “We are going to submit a detailed plan to the state government to enhance the security of the MLAs at the earliest,” additional director-general (headquarters) of police Pramod Kumar Thakur said.

According to the plan, each MLA will get at least three security personnel against two at present. They will work in three shifts of eight hours each.

“We are also going to propose the government to allow frisking of visitors who call on public representatives, if they wish,” Thakur added.