In a glaring example of political patronage of crime and caste, a sitting JD(U) MP from Bihar has formally sought police help for a trader eluding arrest after being accused of cheating investors of nearly `2 crores. The MP wants his protection because both he and the MP belong to the same caste.
Muzaffarpur MP Capt. Jai Narayan Nishad, who had earlier this month been accused by many lawyers of protecting a murder accused, wrote a letter to the West Champaran district SP Sunil Naik asking him to protect one Vijay Kumar, against whom four FIRs were registered recently with allegations of financial fraud. Mr Naik, who received the letter on Thursday, was quoted as saying that Mr Nishad urged him to protect Mr Kumar “hailing from Nishad Samaj”.
While the MP’s letter said Mr Kumar, wanted by the police, was a victim of extortion by one Shamim Akhtar, a local Congress leader who contested the last Lok Sabha polls from Valmikinagar, police verifications of the charges Mr Kumar faces suggested otherwise.