With the crime graph taking a Northward swing in Bihar, it’s not just the hardened criminals who have had a hand, or a bullet, in it. The people’s elected representatives, ironically, all from the ruling dispensation, are also contributing big time. From sexually harassing women to helping their relative escape police custody; from kidnapping a girl to assaulting doctors — MlAs from the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress are all involved.
The misadventures of these legislators has only brought embarrassment to the leadership of the three ruling parties but also provided much needed ammo to the Opposition parties to train their guns on the Nitish Kumar government.
The alleged kidnapping of a young girl by Congress MlA Siddhartha and the brutal assault on a doctor by the son of an RJD MlA came close on the heels of the harassment of a woman passenger in the Rajdhani Express by JD(U) MlA Sarfaraz Ahmed and the help provided to her gangster husband to escape from police custody by Bima Bharti of the same party.
The JD(U) has suspended Jokihat MlA Ahmed from the party but no action has yet been taken against Bharti, the MlA of Rupauli. RJD’s Atri MlA Kunti Devi’s son Ranjit Yadav thrashed a doctor in Gaya district. Ranjit, who is also accused in two other cases, surrendered in Gaya Civil Court on Friday. His MlA mother is also accused in a murder case.
A new twist came about on Friday in connection with the Rsabduction’ of a 17-years old college girl Nidhi by the Congress MlA from Bikram, Siddhartha, when the girl through her lawyer accused her father Abhay Kumar Singh of forcibly trying to get her married against her wishes. The girl was allegedly picked up from her Masaurhi house by the MlA and his bodyguards and associates. A case of kidnapping against Siddhartha has been filed by her father with Masaurhi police station.
Siddhartha surrendered before the police on Friday and is being interrogated. He is the son of noted pediatric Dr Utpal Kant. In fact, in 1999 he had been awarded life term, for murdering his friend who was grandson of a judge. He served jail term for 10 years.
Nidhi’s father alleged that last week too Siddhartha had picked the girl and eloped and later on she was rescued from a girls’ hostel in Patna.
Bihar Congress president Ashok Chaudhary, who is also Education Minister, said his party would definitely take action against the erring MlA.
When Bihar JD(U) president Bashistha Narain Singh advocated action against Siddhartha for his misdeeds, Chaudhary reportedly shot back saying the JD(U) took 15 days to take action against it MlA Sarfaraz Ahmad and wanted Congress to react only in 24 hours. “If the charges of kidnapping the girl are found true, we will definitely take action. Party is very serious and such actions are not acceptable,” he said.
Police are probing from different angles and has seized Nidhi’s mobile phone. It was found that she had been talking to Siddhartha,34, almost everyday on the mobile of his bodyguard Pankaj Singh. Siddhartha, who is married with two children but did not mention it in his electoral affidavit, came in contact with Nidhi during the 2015 Assembly election campaigning when she had been living in Naubatpur with her maternal grandfather.
