Patna Police arrested Independent Member of Parliament Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, late Friday night in Purnea after a tense three-hour standoff at his home in the Mandiri locality. The arrest arises out of a criminal case registered in 1995, almost 35 years earlier, for allegedly cheating and forging.
The Standoff at Mandiri
It started minutes after the MP had returned from a Parliament session in New Delhi. His home was surrounded by a thick police contingent consisting of members from five stations attempting to execute a warrant issued by a special MP/MLA court.
Yadav, visibly agitated, initially refused to cooperate, ordering the visiting officers to "go back." He said he planned to appear in court the following morning and asked why the police had arrived in civil dress late at night that evening.
"I know about the court summons and will appear tomorrow," Yadav told the journalists during the confrontation. "But the policemen, some in civil dress, seem abysmal. I thought they had come to kill me."
The 1995 Case Explained
The case was recorded at the Gardanibagh police station under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code: Patna SP (City) Bhanu Pratap Singh.
- Section 420: Cheating
- Section 468: Forgery for purpose of cheating
- Section 448: House-trespass
- Section 506: Criminal intimidation
The matter is said to stem from a dispute with another local resident. Vinod Bihari Lal claimed that Yadav and his associates allegedly unlawfully rented his house as a political office using false pretenses. The police took the measure of arresting a Member of Parliament who had refused to come to several scheduled hearings.
Claims of Political Vendetta
Yadav has firmly denied the charges, calling the arrest a “political conspiracy” by the Nitish Kumar-led government. He says he is under scrutiny for his open criticism of the administration, including the recent tragic death of a NEET aspirant in the state.
“I’ve always been like this whenever my actions speak out against the state,” Yadav said before being arrested.
Yadav's health deteriorated after his arrest. He was thus sent briefly to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences for a medical diagnostic and a check-up. A lawyer is due to produce him in front of that court today on February 7, 2026.
