Bihar Assembly Election: RJD leader arrested in 2004 case after filing nomination, he’s accused of…; 3 INDIA bloc candidates arrested due to…

Bihar Assembly Election: Satendra Sah, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate from the Sasaram assembly seat, was arrested immediately after he filed his nomination papers for the upcoming Bihar Assembly Election. According to officials, Sah was arrested by the Jharkhand Police under a pending non-bailable warrant (NBW) in a 2018 case.

What did the police say about Sah’s arrest?

Police said the Jharkhand Police executed a pending NBW against Satendra Sah after allowing the RJD leader to file his nomination papers from Bihar’s Sasaram assembly seat on Monday.

“As Sah reached the office of the circle officer concerned on Monday to file his nomination papers from Sasaram seat, the Jharkhand Police officers arrived there to execute an NBW which was pending against him. He was allowed to file his nomination papers… But soon after, he was arrested,” news agency PTI quoted a senior police officer of Rohtas district as saying.

Why was Sah arrested?

According to the Jharkhand Police, Sah was an accused a 2004 bank robbery case at Chirounjiya More in Garhwa district.

“A permanent warrant was issued against Satendra Sah in that case in 2018. Police records indicate that more than 20 cases related to robbery, dacoity, and violations of the Arms Act are pending against him in various police station,” Sunil Tiwari, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, said.

Three INDIA bloc leaders arrested after filing nomination

Notably, Satendra Sah is the third INDIA bloc leader arrested after filing their nomination papers in the Bihar polls. Previously, CPI(ML) Liberation’s candidates from Bhore and Darauli seats, Jitendra Paswan and Satyadeo Ram, respectively, were arrested in separate cases.

In a statement, CPI(ML) Liberation condemned the arrests, calling them “politically motivated”.

“We strongly condemn the politically motivated arrests of Comrade Jitendra Paswan and Comrade Satyadeo Ram… They were arrested right outside the nomination centres immediately after filing their papers. These arrests, under fabricated and baseless charges, clearly reveal the fear and panic among the NDA leaders, who feel threatened by the rising assertion of the masses and the people’s determination to bring change in Bihar,” the Left party had said.

NDA regime accused of ‘repression’

It alleged that the ruling NDA is resorting to repression and intimidation as it is unable to counter the growing anger against its failed governance in Bihar. “Unable to confront the growing anger against its failed ‘double-engine’ government”, the BJP-JD(U) alliance is resorting to “repression, intimidation, and misuse of police and administrative machinery to silence democratic opposition and suppress people’s voices”, the party alleged.

Bihar Assembly Election will be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes to follow on November 14. More than 1,250 candidates filed their papers for the 121 seats as the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of Assembly polls concluded on Friday, according to the Election Commission.

(With inputs from agencies)