Opposition terms Pappu’s arrest as political vendetta

Patna: Opposition leaders on Saturday mounted sharp attacks on the Bihar govt following the arrest of Purnia Independent MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, alleging that the move was aimed at silencing voices demanding justice for a medical aspirant who was allegedly raped and killed at a private girls’ hostel in Patna last month.Hours after Yadav was taken into custody and sent to jail by the Patna police, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the arrest as an act of political vendetta. Taking to social media, he said Yadav had emerged as a strong voice seeking justice for the NEET aspirant whose death, he said, remained shrouded in mystery.“His arrest today is clearly an act of political vendetta, aimed at intimidating and silencing every voice that demands accountability,” Rahul Gandhi wrote, alleging that the handling of the case exposed “the deep rot in the system”.“When the victim’s family demanded a fair investigation and justice, the same old BJP-NDA playbook came into play — derail the case, harass the family, and shield the culprits with the power of the state,” he alleged, adding that the incident pointed to “a terrifying conspiracy and a dangerous pattern”.Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi also condemned the arrest, calling the alleged “rape and murder” of the medical aspirant shocking and questioning the police action against Yadav, who had repeatedly raised the issue.

“From the registration of the FIR to the investigation and action, everything was made suspicious. Who is all this being done to protect?” she asked, accusing the BJP and its allies of shielding the culprits.“From Hathras and Unnao to Ankita Bhandari and Patna, wherever atrocities against women occur, BJP govts stand with the accused instead of delivering justice to the victim,” she alleged.Adding to the criticism, CPI(ML) state secretary Kunal termed Yadav’s arrest “vindictive” and “vengeful”, linking it to his vocal criticism of the police handling of the medical aspirant’s case.

He said the MP was arrested late on Friday night in connection with a 31-year-old case.“What the police did was a misuse of its power. They came to his residence to arrest him without any prior information or notice, and he was arrested at midnight,” Kunal said. “It is a case of direct attack of the police on the democratic rights of people,” he added.