FIR against RJD lawmaker for ‘provocative’ statement on election

The FIR was registered based on the statement of the on-duty police officer, Khusbu Kumari ahead of counting on Friday at 46 centres across 38 districts in the state.

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD) lawmaker Sunil Singh has been booked on Thursday for his alleged “provocative statement and threat of creating a Nepal-like situation in case of any irregularity in counting”, a top Bihar police officer said.

FIR against RJD lawmaker for ‘provocative’ statement on election

Director general of police (DGP) Vinay Kumar said a first information report (FIR) was registered against the legislative council member under sections 174 (undue influence at election, 353 (mischievous statement) and 352 (intentional insult) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 apart from provisions of the Representation of the People’s Act and the Information Technology Act.

The FIR was registered based on the statement of the on-duty police officer, Khusbu Kumari ahead of counting on Friday at 46 centres across 38 districts.

The move comes after Singh warned election officials against trying to manipulate the people’s mandate, adding that it would lead to “the same scenes witnessed on the roads in Nepal and Bangladesh” on the roads of Bihar as well.

Singh also claimed that many RJD candidates were lost due to irregularities in the conduct of the 2020 assembly elections and called for vigilance to ensure such incidents are not repeated.

“I appeal to officials to act honestly: conduct the counting fairly, separate truth from falsehood, and perform your duties with integrity. Do not become instruments in someone else’s hands,” he said, before predicting that the situation would spiral out of control if there were irregularities.

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha defended Sunil Singh, stating that the remark had been misinterpreted and accused the BJP of focusing on political rhetoric rather than development.

JD-U national working president Sanjay Jha said the statement was an attempt to incite public unrest, and urged the Election Commission to take action.