Top News

Patna: Former Bihar minister and Janshakti Janata Dal chief Tej Pratap Yadav was arrested for allegedly indulging in protests over the NEET paper leak in the state capital, his lawyer claimed on Sunday.

The arrest was made a day before the police registered an FIR, he alleged.

The police, however, did not comment on the allegation made by Yadav’s lawyer Jagannath Singh.

“The FIR against Tej Pratap Yadav was registered on July 26, while the arrest was made around 7.30 pm on July 25 evening from a mall in Patna. He was produced before the judicial magistrate court around 12.15 am on Sunday, which sent him to judicial custody. My client is now in Beur Central Jail,” the lawyer said.

Singh said he would approach a competent court on Monday, seeking Yadav’s bail.

The police had alleged that Yadav’s actions led to the escalation of NEET paper leak-related protests in Patna on Saturday, which resulted in property damage.

Shortly after Yadav joined protesters during a sit-in at Ram Gulam Chowk in Patna, he was detained and taken away in a police vehicle.

Reacting to Yadav’s arrest, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who is contesting the Bankipur assembly bypoll, claimed, “Tej Pratap Yadav supported me, so he was sent to jail. The BJP is harassing leaders of Jan Suraaj Party and those who are supporting us by misusing the administration.”

Yadav, who floated Janshakti Janata Dal after his father Lalu Prasad’s RJD expelled him, recently announced support for Kishor in the Bankipur bypoll.

His announcement came after the returning officer rejected the nomination of JJD’s candidate Vina Mandavi.

Yadav had said that Bankipur was considered a BJP stronghold, but public sentiment now favours political change.