JD(U) MLA arrested for helping ‘supari’ killer escape from court

ARA: A fortnight after the arrest of don-turned-MLA Anant Singh of the JD (U) from his official residence at Patna, police on Saturday took into custody another criminal-turned-ruling party MLA Sunil Pandey from Ara, 50km west from Patna.
While Mokama MLA Singh was arrested on June 24 in connection with the kidnapping of a realtor in November 2014, Pandey, who represents Bhojpur district’s Tarari assembly constituency in the state legislature, was nabbed for allegedly extending patronage to one Lambu Sharma.
Lambu had escaped from the police custody after allegedly organizing a human bomb blast on the Ara court premises on January 23 this year. On his rearrest by Delhi Police from the national capital on June 23, he is learned to have told police that the Tarai MLA helped him escape and that he had been given ‘supari’, or contract, to kill the gangster-turned-MLA from Mau in UP, Mukhtar Ansari.
Under heavy police security, Pandey was produced before the Bhojpur chief judicial magistrate at his residence at Ara. After the judge forwarded him to judicial custody for 11 days, he was lodged in the Ara jail. Police earlier took him for medical examination to the district hospital where his supporters raised slogans against the administration.
Bhojpur SP Navin Chandra Jha said police have evidence against the lawmaker. He was not only involved in the Ara court blast case but also patronized Lambu, the main accused of blast case, the SP said and added police would move the court on Monday for taking him on remand for interrogation.
With reports of political patronage to Lambu appearing in the media, the Patna high court had on July 7 summoned the Bhojpur SP and the state ADG (HQ) Sunil Kumar and directed them to expedite the investigation into the court blast case without any fear.
Shahabad range DIG M Rahman told this correspondent over phone bomb carrier Nagina Devi, a native of Gond in UP, and a police constable, Amit Kumar, were killed several persons injured in the court blast.
Though the SP and DIG refused to give further details, police sources said Lambu has told police he was offered Rs 6 crore to murder the Mau MLA who is currently lodged in Agra jail and that the Tarari MLA had given him Rs 50 lakh as advance.