PATNA: Bihar police claimed Tuesday that a man arrested for death threats made against independent MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav was not linked to jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, but he was inveigled into an alleged conspiracy to secure an upgrade to the Purnia strongman’s Y-category security.
The suspect, identified as Ram Babu Yadav, was arrested Monday in Bhojpur district and he was earlier associated with Yadav’s Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), police said.
According to Purnia SP Kartikeya Kumar Sharma, the accused claimed he was lured by Yadav’s associates with a promise of Rs 2 lakh to issue video threats. “The accused said he was told to issue death threats to the MP so that his security could be upgraded. During interrogation, no links to the Lawrence Bishnoi group were found,” the officer said.
“When Yadav visited his village some 4-5 years ago, he met the man and had photos taken together,” Sharma said.
When asked if the MP was involved, Sharma said: “This is a matter of investigation.”
Yadav denied the allegations and challenged the police to expose those behind the conspiracy. “If someone paid money to threaten me, the police should reveal their names and arrest them.”
JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar accused Yadav of staging the threats.