Patna: Tej Pratap Yadav has been sent to 14 days of judicial custody after he was arrested on Saturday evening.
Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son was apprehended by Patna Police hours after being briefly detained and released during protests held during a Bihar bandh called by the All India Students’ Association over NEET paper leak issue.
Tej Pratap, who formed the Jan Shakti Janata Dal (JSJD) after being expelled by his father from RJD last year, was at a shopping mall in Patna when a police team, led by the Superintendent of Police (SP), took him into custody.
Tej Pratap’s lawyer Jagannath Singh said, “An FIR was filed on the 26th, whereas the arrest took place on the 25th, at 7.30 pm, from the city centre mall… I just submitted an application to the judge for his release. He told me to process the bail demand on Monday.”
Singh further said he asked the cops on Sunday at Naubatpur police station the reason behind his arrest. “His family members don’t even know that he was under arrest since 7.30 pm… We still haven’t got the copy of the FIR,” the lawyer said.
Patna Police has not issued a statement detailing the charges against Tej Pratap, but sources said his arrest is linked to incidents of vandalism and arson reported during the Bihar bandh earlier in the day.
Tej Pratap joined protesters at Ram Gulam Chowk near Gandhi Maidan, where students and common people were demonstrating in support of demands for Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation (Pradhan quit later in the afternoon).
On reviewing CCTV footage from the protest site, police reportedly found evidence suggesting that Tej Pratap had incited protesters who turned violent and went on a rampage.
The city SP then went with his team to the mall and arrested Tej Pratap.
He and his associates asked the cops about the reason for his arrest despite having already been released earlier in the day.
Police told them he would be transported in the SP’s vehicle rather than a police van.
Saturday’s Bihar bandh saw protests across several districts, with road blockades, disruption of rail services and clashes with police in some parts of the state.
