Patna: The Patna high court on Thursday refused to grant regular bail to former RJD legislator Ritlal Yadav in connection with a criminal case of extortion and land grabbing lodged at Khagaul police station last year.A single bench of justice Satyavrat Verma rejected the regular bail plea on Thursday.On May 22 last year, an FIR was lodged at Khagaul police station by the station house officer against Ritlal Yadav and his aides, accusing them of extorting money from various landowners and builders, usurping public land and illegally amassing substantial assets by forming an organised crime syndicate of land grabbers.The FIR listed 37 criminal cases pending against the accused lawmaker.Senior counsel Rajendra Narayan, appearing for Ritlal Yadav, submitted that his client had been falsely implicated in the latest extortion case, as no specific complainant or victim of alleged land grabbing and extortion was named. He argued that the FIR was politically motivated.State prosecutor Ajay Mishra opposed the bail plea, submitting that the case was registered only after a preliminary police enquiry. The list of alleged illegal assets and bank accounts mentioned in the FIR indicated serious criminal activities and, if released on bail, the accused could adversely affect prosecution witnesses, he added.Finding merit in the prosecution’s submissions, the court rejected the bail application.
