Patna: Sanjeev Kumar Singh, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate for the Patna Teachers' constituency, alleged on Friday, October 23, that police were sent to his residence while polling for the Bihar Legislative Council elections was under way and wanted to conduct a search without a warrant. Speaking to the news agency ANI, Singh said he asked the police to produce a warrant, they could not, and he did not allow them to enter his home. He alleged that the police remained outside his residence for about two hours, with eight vehicles parked outside.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

Singh, a doctor by profession and a former MLA who earlier left the JD(U) to join the RJD, said there are no allegations or pending criminal cases against him and described the alleged police action as an attempt to intimidate a candidate and influence the election. These are his allegations, reported as such; Awaaz Punjab has not independently verified the alleged search attempt.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav made a similar allegation in a Hindi-language post early on Friday, before polling began. He alleged that police were sent to his party candidate's residence at 1 a.m. without any search warrant in what he called a failed attempt to demoralise the RJD, and wrote that Lalu Prasad and RJD workers and leaders would not be intimidated. Nation Press reported the post and noted it could not independently verify the wider claims in it.

Source: Nation Press

What is solid

  • Polling for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats began at 8 a.m. on Friday, October 23 and runs until 4 p.m., with counting on October 27; 150 candidates are in the fray and 5,32,847 voters are eligible (IANS; The Hindu).
  • Sanjeev Kumar Singh is the RJD candidate for the Patna Teachers' constituency, a doctor and former MLA who previously left the JD(U) for the RJD (ANI).
  • Tejashwi Yadav publicly alleged early on Friday that police were sent to an RJD candidate's home at 1 a.m. without a search warrant (Nation Press, reporting his post).

What is only claimed

  • Whether police attempted a warrantless search of Singh's home is alleged by Singh and by Tejashwi Yadav; it has not been independently verified, and no response from Bihar Police or the state government had been reported in the sources checked for this story.
  • Singh's claim that the alleged action was meant to influence the election is his allegation, not an established finding.

The eight seats being polled on Friday cover four Graduates' constituencies — Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Kosi — and four Teachers' constituencies — Patna, Darbhanga, Tirhut and Saran. The BJP and the JD(U) are contesting four seats each, while Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has fielded candidates in all eight, IANS reported. The sitting members' terms expire on November 16.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

No response from Bihar Police or the state government to the RJD's allegations had been reported at the time of publishing. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if an official response is issued.