Patna, Aug 1: A court in Bihar’s Jehanabad district Saturday sentenced former Lok Sabha member Arun Kumar to three years of imprisonment for his comment in 2015 threatening chief minister Nitish Kumar, a lawyer associated with the case said.
However, the former MP from Jehanabad was granted interim bail immediately thereafter and said he would challenge the civil court order in the district and sessions court. He was present in court when the verdict was pronounced.
Addressing a press conference in Patna on June 28, 2015, Arun Kumar, then the state secretary of erstwhile Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), said, “We are not wearing bangles. We will break the chest bones of the chief minister for hurting our respect and targeting one particular caste.” The MP, who was flanked by the then state BJP president Mangal Pandey and Pashupati Paras, the state president of Lok Janshakti Party, was referring to the arrest of JD(U) MLA Anant Singh in 2015. Both Arun Kumar and Anant Singh come from the influential Bhumihar community.
Days later, Chandrika Prasad Yadav, a local JD(U) leader, filed a case against Arun Kumar. Yadav’s lawyer Sanjay Kumar told HT that his client had gotten justice from the court. Arun Kumar, however, said he was raising his voice against the corrupt people.