Bihar MLA ‘caught and bowled’ for attending cricket match amid lockdown

PTI, Jul 23, 2020, 9:08 AM IST

Patna: It was a mistimed shot by an RJD MLA in Bihar, in more than one sense of the word. Shambhu Nath Yadav, who belongs to the opposition party and represents the Brahmapur assembly segment in Buxar district, stumbled on the ground while trying to strike the ball and also ended up being booked, for violation of restrictions in place on account of the statewide lockdown.

The incident took place on Sunday when Yadav was in his constituency as a “chief guest” at a village-level cricket tournament. Videos of the MLA, missing the ball but getting thrown off balance on account of the full-blooded shot he attempted, went viral on the social media.

Vishnudev Kumar, in-charge of the Ramdas Rai ke Dera outpost,said Wednesday “we learnt about the gathering, organised without permission from the local authorities and where the number of people was apparently far greater than what is allowed”.

“An FIR was, thus, lodged on Monday against more than 20 people, including the legislator. Investigations are on and further action may follow”, he added.

A statewide fortnight-long lockdown was clamped on Bihar from July 15 following a massive spike in COVID 19 cases. Those who have been infected by the dreaded coronavirus in the recent past include many top political leaders, including two members of the state cabinet and the acting Chairman of the state legislative council.

One sitting BJP MLC also lost his life on the previous evening at a Patna hospital where he had been admitted upon testing positive. Nonetheless, politicos of various levels routinely end up, wittingly or unwittingly, violating social distancing norms.

At Teghra in Begusarai district, BJP leader ended up being booked on the count recently, along with his supporters who had congregated to celebrate his recovery from COVID 19.

Ram, the state convener for the BJPs Mahadalit cell, was among the 24 people who had tested positive after getting their samples collected at the partys Bihar headquarters in Patna. According to inspector in-charge of Teghra police station Himanshu Kumar, Ram is among 15 people named in an FIR lodged in this connection, along with 30 unnamed ones.

Meanwhile, in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s home district of Nalanda, some villagers have been booked for hosting a party,which violated social distancing norms and where liquor also allegedly flowed in flagrant violation of the complete prohibition that has been in force in the state for nearly four years.

According to DSP (law and order), Nalanda, Sanjay Kumar, the party was hosted at Bokana village late Monday night and videos purportedly of the event show the villagers gyrating alongside dance girls to the tune of lewd numbers, displaying firearms and drinking alcohol.