Patna: Bihar BJP leader Giriraj Singh, against whom an arrest warrant was issued by a Bokaro court on Wednesday, is 'absconding'.
Armed with a court order, a joint team of Bihar and Jharkhand police raided the house of Bihar BJP leader to arrest him for his alleged hate statements but could not find him.
"A team of Bokaro police and Patna police raided Giriraj Singh's house around 5 AM in the morning to arrest him on the direction of a Bokaro court, which had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him but Singh was not found in the house," City Superintendent of Police Jaykant told a news agency.
The Jharkhand police is in town and is waiting to apprehend Singh with the assistance of the Patna team, he said.
The Jharkhand police team said they would try to arrest him before he surrenders in court and if Singh continued to elude they would pray to the court for attaching his property.
On Wednesday, the former Bihar minister said that he was not hiding and that the police could arrest him if they want to. He also said that his comment regarding BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's baiters had been misconstrued.
Singh had also told a news agency, “I am not hiding. If the police wants it can arrest me. I will surrender in court tomorrow.”
Efforts to contact Singh have failed. His cellphone was found switched off and his landline was not operational.
When a group of mediapersons reached Singh's home and asked his kin about his whereabouts, they said he was in the city but refused to divulge the location.
Three FIRs - two at Deogarh and Bokaro in Jharkhand and one in Patna - have been lodged against the Bharatiya Janata Party leader at the behest of the Election Commission, which has barred him from campaigning in the two states in the wake of his April 18 controversial remarks.
Giriraj Singh had said that "those opposing Narendra Modi as the prime minister of India are supporters of Pakistan", and that the Centre was giving subsidy for export of beef while taxing those who reared cows.
The third FIR was lodged at the Airport police station here three days ago for repeating the same remarks publicly on April 20.
Singh is contesting from Nawada Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. Voting was held in Nawada on April 10.
courtesy: z