Bihar minister Surendra Prasad Yadav quits

PATNA: Junior minister for excise Surendra Prasad Yadav submitted his resignation letter to the chief minister on Wednesday, even as the police said there was no “timeframe� for the arrest of Surendra, MLC Azad Gandhi and Pappu Yadav, brother-in-law of the CM’s brother Subhash Yadav.
The resignation letter was forwarded to the Raj Bhavan around 2 pm for being accepted.A Gaya court had issued non-bailable warrants against the three in connection with a kidnapping case.
According to police sources, Gaya SP Raveendran Sankaran has asked the officials of Rampur police to include Patna DSP (law and order) Shashi Bhushan Sharma on the list of accused. “The resignation letter has been forwarded to the governor,� said RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav while insisting that the matter was sub judice and that the law would take its own course.
Surendra became the sixth minister to quit the present Rabri Devi government on being charged with unlawful acts. Surendra is reported to have gone to Subhash’s house and sent his resignation letter to the CM through an aide. However, Subhash denied that Surendra had visited his house.
Even as the police arrested police constables Niyaz Khan and Mahendra Singh and sub-inspector Ramakant Ram (who is also a complainant in the case lodged against Surendra), DIG and spokesman of the police headquarters Rituraj said, “There is no timeframe for the arrest of other accused. The police are in the process of implementing the non-bailable warrants against them.�
He said the three policemen had been arrested because of their involvement in the illegal confinement of Atul Prakash, a fraud case accused. Surendra, Azad and Pappu were reported to be in Patna, but the police had not made any move to arrest them till evening.
Meanwhile, Prakash filed a complaint case in Patna CJM’s court against SI Ramakant Ram and two constables for kidnapping him.
Prakash said in the complaint that Ram and two constables had gone to Anand district in Gujarat on April 2 to bring him to Patna in connection with a Rs 5 lakh fraud case. Azad and Pappu were along with the policemen to identify him.
He had asked the SI at the time they were boarding the Rajdhani Express in Delhi as to why they were boarding the train for Gaya instead of Patna.
After reaching Gaya, the SI asked him to give Rs 50,000 and save himself from paying Rs 5 lakh on reaching Patna. On this, he asked for two days’ time to arrange the money, during which he and the policemen were asked to stay in a small room. After the expiry of time when he could not arrange the money, the SI became furious and started torturing and abusing him, Prakash maintained.
The CJM directed the police to institute a case against the SI and two constables.
Surendra moved a bail petition in the Gaya CJM’s court on Wednesday.