Patna: Independent MP from Purnia, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, was granted bail by the MP-MLA court in Patna on Tuesday in connection with a 31-year-old fraud and forgery case registered at Gardanibagh police station. The case, dating back to 1995, involves allegations under old IPC sections related to cheating, forgery, criminal intimidation and conspiracy.Despite the bail granted in this primary case, the MP will remain in judicial custody at Beur Central Jail for the time being. His advocate, Shivnandan Bharti, said Yadav was granted bail in the alleged fraud case, but hearings for bail in two separate cases linked to Kotwali and Buddha Colony police stations will be held on Wednesday.“These cases were deliberately registered against my client. He has been accused of obstructing govt work and hindering police action last week when police came to his residence in Patna to arrest him,” Bharti told TOI after the hearing. Expressing full confidence in the judiciary, Bharti said Yadav would come out of jail after completion of all paperwork by Thursday.Yadav was brought to the Patna civil court from Beur jail around 12.30pm for the bail hearing, which began at 2pm. He was produced before the court of additional chief judicial magistrate-I-cum-special judge (MP/MLA) Praveen Kumar Malviya and remained seated in a wheelchair during the proceedings due to health concerns.In a dramatic moment during the hearing, the MP became emotional and broke down in tears while addressing the judge. He accused the Patna police of misconduct and alleged a conspiracy to harm him, claiming they were attempting to kill him by administering some form of injection while he was lodged in Beur jail.The arrest on Friday night arose from a long-pending warrant in the 1995 case, issued due to Yadav’s repeated non-appearance in court. The complainant, Vinod Bihari Lal, alleged that the MP had fraudulently rented his house by concealing the intended use and later converted the property into an office without disclosing this purpose at the time of the rental agreement.Yadav was arrested from his Mandiri residence under Buddha Colony police station in Patna on Feb 6 at midnight following high-voltage drama. The timing of the arrest triggered controversy with opposition leaders describing it as “political vendetta” linked to his vocal criticism of the state govt over the recent suspicious death of a medical aspirant in Patna. Yadav had demanded accountability for the girl’s safety in hostels and a thorough probe into the incident.
