Pappu Yadav's arrest raised in Lok Sabha again

Pappu Yadav founded Jan Adhikar Party after being expelled from the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

New Delhi: Congress member and arrested MP Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav`s wife Ranjeet Ranjan on Wednesday again raised in the Lok Sabha the issue of her husband`s arrest in Patna.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she has sought details of the incident.

Ranjan alleged that the Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) leader was mistreated, and sought action from the Speaker.

"For five hours, police unnecessarily cordoned the house. They treated him like a criminal. They called you as well, and said he was running away, which was a lie," Ranjan said about the arrest.

The Madhepura MP was not given bail the next morning, she said.

Ranjan said: "They said it was a very high profile case and there was pressure."

"They have not given bail so far. The biggest surprise is he is not arrested for protest at the state assembly. He was arrested for some other incident," Ranjan added.

"This shows the intention was only to arrest and harass. We thought he may get bail in three-four days," the MP said.

"They wanted him to protest so that they can declare him criminal. A police official said we have instruction to insult," she alleged.

"It is not just about the privilege of an MP. If they treat an MP like this, how will they treat common people," the Congress MP asked.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also supported Ranjan. "We should condemn how he was treated... Who has given you right to treat someone like this," Kharge said.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan assured action and said she has sought facts on the incident.

"I have a privilege notice as well. When the issue was raised on March 29, I talked to authorities. I have sought a factual note and we will see what can be done. Handcuffing is wrong, we will look into it," she said.

Pappu Yadav founded JAP after being expelled from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

The police in Patna on Monday night arrested Pappu Yadav, hours after his supporters clashed with police during a march towards the state assembly to protest a power tariff hike.

Police said the arrest was in connection with an old case relating to an incident near the Kargil Chowk in the city on January 24.