Expelled BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh Dayashankar Singh, who was on the run after an FIR was filed against him for making alleged derogatory remarks against BSP President Mayawati, was today arrested from Bihar's Buxar district.
Dayashankar Singh was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) team with the help of the district police from a house in Chinni Mill locality, Superintendent of Police Upendra Kumar Sharma told PTI.
Buxar is about 100 km from Patna on the border of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Singh had gone underground after an FIR was registered against him on July 20 by UP police on a complaint by BSP leader Mewalal Gautam, alleging that Singh's remarks hurt the feelings of BSP workers and the Dalit community across the country.
The arrest comes a day after Singh failed to get a stay from Allahabad High Court which directed the UP government to file its reply by August 5 on his plea challenging the lodging of the FIR against him.
The remarks by Singh, former UP Vice President of BJP, had stoked a major controversy with BJP expelling him from the party.
A photograph of Dayashankar Singh at a temple in Deogarh
in Jharkhand had gone viral on social media and was also published in newspapers, triggering angry reaction from Mayawati against BJP which is in power in Jharkhand.
Dayashankar Singh hails from Ballia in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
He is a Thakur and even though the caste accounts for only 7.6 per cent of the population, they wield enormous influence.
BJP has initiated a fight in the name of daughter's honour giving a slogan "Beti ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein" after BSP leaders targeted Singh's family.
The party threw its weight behind Swati Singh, wife of Singh, demanding action against BSP leaders for making derogatory remarks against her daughter and mother-in-law.
In a show of strength BSP staged a massive dharna at Hazratganj on July 21 and has been demanding Singh's arrest terming BJP as "anti-Dalit".
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Days after he was made Uttar Pradesh BJP Vice President, Singh had made a derogatory remarks about Mayawati.
The BSP supremo warned in a Parliament speech that if Singh was not punished, Dalits would erupt in protests across the country.
Her statement evoked angry reactions in Parliament after which Singh was suspended from the party. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had condemned his statement in Rajya Sabha and apologised to Mayawati on BJP's behalf.
In a swift damage-control measure, BJP expelled Singh from the party, but Mayawati said "it was not enough".
In retaliation, BSP leaders brandished posters that use cuss words to describe Singh and offered a reward of Rs 50 lakh for his tongue.
Singh's wife also filed a police case against a BSP leader who, she said, made comment what amounted to a sexual threat against her 12-year-old daughter.
Dalits, who form 21 per cent of UP's population, are a crucial determinant of election results.
