File photo of JDU legislator Sunil Pandey
A Janata Dal (United) legislator from Piro in Bihar's Bhojpur district, Sunil Pandey, has been arrested for allegedly facilitating the escape of a gangster from a court in January.
Notorious gangster Sachidanand Sharma alias Lambu Sharma is an accused in a bomb blast case in which a woman and a police constable were killed and 16 others injured. He had escaped from custody along with another prisoner Akhilesh Upadhyaya while being produced in at a court in Bhojpur's Ara town on January 23.
While Akhilesh Upadhyaya was arrested soon, Sachidanand Sharma remained missing and was arrested in New Delhi by a joint team of Bihar Police and Delhi Police on June 24 and was later brought back to Ara.
According to reports, Sachidanand Sharma, a resident of Piro, confessed during the interrogation that Sunil Pandey, whose name also figured in the killing of the Ranvir Sena chief, Brahmeshwar Singh, had given him a contract for eliminating Uttar Pradesh don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is at present lodged in Agra central jail.
Sachidanand Sharma was reportedly promised Rs 50 lakh to accomplish the task.
The JD(U) legislator has been facing many cases of kidnapping and extortion. He is the second legislator of the ruling JD(U) to be arrested by police.
Last month, Patna police had arrested muscleman legislator from Mokama, Anant Singh, in connection with the kidnapping of a builder of Bihta in November last year.