E-Paper
RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s son Tej Pratap, Ranchi hotelier booked for lockdown violation
The case was lodged on a written complaint of circle officer (CO), Ranchi, Prakash Kumar.
Former Bihar health minister and son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, a Ranchi hotelier and its manager have been booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for Covid-19 lockdown violation, police said on Friday.
The FIR against Tej Pratap was lodged at Ranchi’s Chutia police station on Friday. “Tej Pratap was booked under sections-269 and 270 of the Indian Panel Code (IPC),” said Ravi Thakur, officer-in-charge, Chutia police station. However, the FIR copy mentions two sections-188 and 34 of the IPC.
The case was lodged on a written complaint of circle officer (CO), Ranchi, Prakash Kumar. In his complaint, Kumar said that when he, along with officer-in-charge Chutia, visited room no-507 of the hotel around 9 pm on Thursday, Tej Pratap and other persons were found staying there without any prior information or permission.
According to the complaint, “He (Tej Pratap) had no permission letter of any competent authority for his stay. Besides, he returned to Bihar without completing the mandatory 14-day home quarantine which is a violation of government order during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
A day before on Thursday evening, the owner and the manager of hotel Capitol Residency at Ranchi’s station road were booked for allegedly offering room to Tej Pratap. The FIR was lodged against them at Ranchi’s Chutia police station on a written complaint of circle officer (CO), Ranchi, Prakash Kumar.
The officer-in-charge of Chutia police station, said, “Hotel manager Dushyant Kumar and the owner have been booked under sections 188 and 34 of the Indian Penal code (IPC).”
He said hotels have not been permitted to operate in Jharkhand yet amid the pandemic. “In such a case, they cannot offer rooms to anyone. It is a violation of lockdown rules,” he added.
Pratap was in Ranchi on Thursday and met former Bihar chief minister and his father Lalu Prasad Yadav at Kelly’s bungalow located in the premises of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS). Yadav is undergoing medical treatment there. An accused in the fodder scam, the RJD president was serving jail terms and was been admitted to RIMS in December 2018 for the treatment of his critical illness.
Pratap told media persons that he met his father to enquire about his health and discussed political issues as well. Before meeting Lalu, Pratap underwent rapid antigen test and was allowed to meet his father after testing negative for SARS-Cov-2.
When Jharkhand RJD president Abhay Singh was contacted for his comment over the FIR, he said, “I have no official information of any such development. As far as I know, Tej Pratap had left the city on Thursday night.”
State BJP spokesperson, Pratul Shahdeo said the FIR was lodged against Tej Pratap after constant pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “We have been putting pressure as over 60 vehicles entered the city with the RJD leader. A large contingent of party workers from Bihar and Jharkhand accompanied the leader in an open violation of social distancing and other Covid-19 norms in the hospital and around the city,” Shahdeo said.
Reacting to the development, the office-bearers of the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) said the FIR was uncalled for. “Hotel owners know that offering rooms to anyone during the lockdown is a violation of Covid-19 protocol. But, the situation for them turns tough when leaders like Tej Pratap seek a room. The administration should take care when such leaders visit Ranchi,” said Dheeraj Taneja, FJCCI general secretary.
