The Bihar unit of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) yesterday filed a contempt petition in the Patna High Court against Chief Secretary B P Verma, director general of police S K Saxena and district magistrate Rajbala Verma for willful and deliberate violation of the undertaking given on behalf of the state government that all suitable arrangement had been made for maintenance of law and order in the event of arrest of Laloo Prasad Yadav.
The two petitioners, leader of the opposition Sushil Kumar Modi and party state unit general secretary Sarvu Roy in their petition alleged that the state government in its affidavit before the monitoring bench of the Patna High Court had said: No discrimination shall be made while affecting the arrest of any accused only on the ground of his status or position.
The two leaders have maintained in their petition that these officials did not cooperate with the CBI and did not provide any force to the investigative agency to execute the arrest after the anticipatory Bail application of Yadav was rejected by the Supreme Court.
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What is truly disturbing is that the Patna district magistrate, Rajbala Verma, deliberately ensured that the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was removed from the vicinity of the former Chief Ministers residence so that his supporters who were giving threats to the CBI could have a field day.
Besides, the chief secretary, the DGP and the district magistrate on the night of July 29 did everything within their power to frustrate the arrest of Yadav and provide an opportunity to him so that he could surrenderin public procession and make a mockery of the rule of law.
It is indeed shocking that dirty slogans were raised against the special CBI judge within the court premises and the district magistrate remained a mute spectator.
Former Bihar labour minister Vidya Sagar Nishad, a co-accused in the Case No RC 20 A/96, surrendered before the designated CBI court and remanded to judicial custody.
He also surrendered in two other scam related case RC 64A/96 and RC 24 A/96 and sent to Patna Central Jain at Beur.