Press trust of india
Patna/Siwan (Bihar), Sept 14: A major controversy erupted in Bihar Wednesday after the surfacing of a photograph of an absconding accused in the murder of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan with RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s son and Health minister Tej Pratap Yadav.
Yadav, however, dismissed the charge and feigned ignorance about the suspect, Mohammad Kaif. TV channels flashed photograph of Kaif with Yadav which went viral on social media. Tuesday Kaif was seen in photographs and videos standing beside RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin after his release from Bhagalpur jail September 10.
Appearance of minister Tej Pratap in the same frame with Kaif drew severe criticism from BJP. Kaif and Mohammad Javed, another absconding suspect in the murder of the scribe at Siwan in May, were shown in the same frame with Shahabuddin after his release attracting sharp criticism of the state government. Following the surfacing of his photo with Kaif, the health minister told reporters that thousands of supporters and people meet him every day and click photograph with him and it was not possible for him to know their background. “How would I know who is a shooter from among 1,000 people who click photo with me?” Yadav said.
Yadav, who is elder son of RJD President Lalu Prasad, alleged that BJP was behind the controversy. “It is a conspiracy of opposition BJP. They bring some photograph from somewhere and make some false allegations.” His younger brother and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav jumped to his defence. “Is it written on somebody’s forehead what he is?” he said on the photograph of Kaif with Tej Pratap Yadav.
| Nitish government may move SC Patna/Siwan: Facing flak over controversial RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin’s release, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar is mulling moving the Supreme Court for cancellation of his bail even as opposition NDA Wednesday demanded his arrest in the journalist Rajdeo Ranjan murder case.”This has been an established process followed by Nitish Kumar government in the past 11 years that if the state is not satisfied with the bail of somebody, it goes in appeal in higher court,” JD(U) spokesman Ajay Alok said. |
| CBI to probe scribe’s murder New Delhi: Four months after the murder of bureau chief of a Hindi daily Rajdev Ranjan in Siwan, CBI will be taking over the investigation in the case. CBI sources said a team will soon leave for Siwan after a case is registered by it in the murder of Ranjan, the Siwan bureau chief of ‘Hindustan’. Alleged gangster and RJD leader Shahbuddin, who was recently released on bail, was under the scanner of investigation agencies in the case, they said. |
