Suspended JD-U MLA acquitted
Suspended Bihar Janata Dal (United) MLA Sunil Pandey is set to be released from jail after the Patna high court acquitted him in a case of abduction of a renowned doctor. Pandey was sentenced to life term in the case two years ago.
For the MLA, whose name still spells fear in his constituency, Piro in Bhojpur district, the acquittal has come as a godsend because Assembly polls in Bihar are scheduled in November.
Despite all his notoriety, Pandey, whose official name is Narendra Pandey, is regarded in Bihar’s political circles with some awe because he had played a crucial role in the formation of the JD(U)-BJP coalition government after the 2005 Assembly polls.
Pandey was suspended from the JD(U) after his conviction, but he is known to be owing allegiance to the party all along.
Sources in the Janata Dal (United) said the party still considers the physically frail MLA, often known for his drunken tantrums, to be an “asset”.
The JD(U) is likely to revoke Sunil Pandey’s suspension shortly.
The division bench of Justices Shyam Kishore Sharma and Dinesh Kumar acquitted Pandey and four other co-accused for want of enough evidence while it upheld the conviction of two others in its verdict on Wednesday. The seven people were accused of abducting renowned neurosurgeon Ramesh Chandra for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh on May 18, 2003.
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