CID set to probe land grabcharges against JD(U) MLA

Patna: The state govt has transferred the investigation into a land dispute case involving Kuchaikote JD(U) MLA Amrendra Kumar alias Pappu Pandey to the CID, citing the seriousness of the allegations.

The case relates to the alleged illegal possession of 16 acres of land in Belwa village under Kuchaikote. Apart from the MLA, his elder brother Satish Pandey and five others have been named in the FIR. A chartered accountant, Rahul Tiwari, is also among the accused.

The complaint was filed on April 1 by Jitendra Kumar Rai of Semrao village under Mirganj police station. Rai alleged that the land belongs to Kiran Sinha and that men linked to the MLA broke the locks of five rooms and replaced them. He further alleged that the accused attempted to forcibly occupy the land and issued death threats when resisted. The FIR includes charges of organised crime, land grabbing and coercion. Allegations of firing with intent to kill were also made, following which police were informed.

On April 12, police conducted raids at the MLA’s ancestral village, Naya Gaon Tulsia, and at a fuel station in Hathua linked to him after obtaining a non-bailable warrant from a Gopalganj court. However, he could not be traced. The Supreme Court later stayed his arrest.

Rajya Sabha member and Bar Council of India chairman Manan Mishra has filed an anticipatory bail petition on behalf of the accused in the Gopalganj MP-MLA court and is arguing the case himself.

After Mokama MLA Anant Singh, this is the second case involving a sitting JDU MLA to be transferred to the CID. The case diary and related documents are being handed over to the agency, which will now carry forward the investigation.