Patna, Nov. 2: Police today took Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate from Danapur Ramanand Yadav by surprise, arresting him minutes after he filed his nomination from the seat.
On the same day, a police team left for Delhi to arrest Union minister Jai Prakash Narain Yadav, accused of misusing his official position to secure the release of his brother Vijay Prakash from police custody.
?Jamui superintendent of police Arvind Kumar has sent a team headed by a DSP-rank officer to Delhi to arrest the Union minister,? an official source said. On Monday, Prakash had surrendered in a local court in Jamui and was remanded in judicial custody till November 14.
Patna police had been on the lookout for Ramanand in connection with a 22-year-old murder. A permanent non-bailable arrest warrant was pending against Ramanand.
The RJD leader was arrested after he filed his nomination and stepped out of the office of returning officer Anima Singh. Senior party leaders Ram Kripal Yadav and Shyam Rajak were mere spectators as Ramanand was whisked away. ?We arrested him on the orders of the Election Commission,? deputy superintendent of police Dilnawaz Ahmad said.
An RJD member who was accompanying Ramanand said: ?We have no idea why he was arrested. Even Ramanand does not know. If he had ever received a notice pertaining to an arrest warrant, he would have surrendered a long time ago. This only shows the poll panel?s strong-arm tactics.?
Police produced Ramanand before the subdivisional magistrate, Danapur, from where he was sent to judicial custody for a week.
Also arrested on the day was Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) nominee from Chandi in Nalanda district Naro Yadav. The LJP leader fell into the hands of the police minutes before he was to file his nomination papers at Hilsa. He was allowed to file the papers in police custody. Naro Yadav was wanted in a case under the Arms Act registered at Rajgir police station in 2002.
Bihar police chief A.R. Sinha directed Kishanganj police to immediately arrest Congress candidate from Bahadurganj T. Alam, who faced criminal charges and had been evading the police for two years.
