The Bihar Police have conducted raids at several places in Patna linked with members of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker Ritlal Yadav, who is now in judicial custody in relation to an alleged extortion case.
The late-night operations, carried out on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, were at Kothwa village in Danapur. The operation was to nab four persons suspected to be close associates of Yadav and reportedly on the run.
Speaking to Press Trust of India (PTI), City Superintendent of Police (West), Bhanu Pratap Singh, said the raids were based on a complaint by a local resident.
The complainant had accused the accused, who were all Yadav's associates, of forcibly bringing down an under-construction building in Danapur after he denied giving them extortion money.
"Raids were made to arrest four absconding accused, who are known associates of Ritlal Yadav, following a complaint lodged by an individual," Singh said. Singh further added that the RJD MLA has also been accused in the case and efforts are being made to arrest the other suspects.
Yadav, who is the incumbent MLA from the Danapur constituency and a confirmed loyalist of the Lalu Prasad Yadav dynasty, surrendered to a Patna court on 17 April. Along with three of his colleagues — Chikku Yadav, Pinku Yadav, and Sharavan Yadav — he was sent to judicial custody.
Responding to the media outside the Danapur court during his surrender, Yadav said he was the victim of a political conspiracy and feared for his life. "There is a threat to my life. I may be killed. If I survive, I will seek bail," he declared.
"Some bureaucrats are against me. Efforts to kill me have been made for the past few months.". A sophisticated firearm was provided to my opponents by some officials, in order to kill me.
The police investigation continues, and officials have assured to continue search operations until absconding suspects are arrested.
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