Baghmara MLA Dhullu Mahto (2nd from left) on his way to the court in Dhanbad on Tuesday. Picture by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad, April 29: A Dhanbad court framed charges against an MLA and three others today for allegedly manhandling policemen to free an extortionist from custody about a year ago in the coal capital.

Baghmara’s JVM MLA Dhullu Mahto, who has been lodged in Dhanbad Divisional Jail for about a year now, and his aides Ganga Sao, Basant Sharma and Chunchun Gupta appeared in the court of subdivisional judicial magistrate Om Prakash, who framed the charges against them and fixed May 12 for the next hearing.

Charges were framed under various sections of the IPC, including 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty).

Nichitpur police had lodged an FIR against Mahto and five others on May 12 last year for allegedly assaulting policemen in uniform and preventing them from doing their job.

In the FIR, then officer in-charge R.N. Choudhary alleged that a group led by Mahto barged into the police station and freed extortionist Rajesh Gupta from custody.

Complainant Choudhary, who is now posted at Barora, said that Mahto and his team had assaulted policemen, tore a constable’s uniform and tried to snatch away an officer’s service revolver while freeing Gupta.

On July 9 last year, Mahto, his four aides, including one Rameshwar Sao, and Gupta surrendered in the court of then subdivisional judicial magistrate Sri Subhash and were sent to jail.

Subsequently, all the accused, except Mahto, were granted bail.

Today, the court issued production warrant for Sao, who is lodged in Asansol jail in connection with another case, and cancelled the bail bond of Gupta while issuing an arrest warrant against him.