09 February,2011 07:34 AM IST | | Abhishek Anand
Member of Legislative Assembly has been accused of planting a bomb in front of UP minister's house
In a joint effort, Delhi police and Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested Samajwadi Party MLA Vijay Mishra. UP police had declared an award of Rs 2.5 lakh on the accused.
In the net: Vijay Mishra was arrested near Gargi college in New Delhi.
Pic/Mid Day
The MLA of Bhadohi was nabbed near Gargi College in Hauz Khas area of Delhi. He is the prime accused in a bomb blast case outside the residence of Nand Gopal Gupta, the then Minister for Institutional Finance, Stamp and Judicial Tax, in Allahabad on July 12 last year. A journalist and a policeman were killed in the blast.
"We have already arrested the three accused in the case and we were tracking Vijay Mishra for a long time. Mishra visited the city five times in the last six months. Our team arrested him near Anand Lok apartments," said an officer of the STF.
Gupta suffered severe injuries in the blast and had to undergo treatment for two months. BSP activist Preetam, Nandi's PRO Anuj Pandey and local resident Shyamu were the others injured in the explosion. A local journalist named Vijay Pratap Singh was killed in the blast as he was waiting for a meeting with the minister.After Gupta recovered he was given charge of Homeopathy Education department in the ministry. The post was vacant following removal of Minister of State Rajesh Tripathi, who was dropped after Lokayukt submitted a report against him.
The blast had occurred when Nandi was walking towards a temple opposite his house. The explosive device was planted in a two-wheeler parked close to the minister's residence. Four other two-wheelers parked in the vicinity were badly damaged in the explosion.
"We have produced the accused in the Saket court and we are now taking him to UP for further investigation. The accused was wanted in more than 50 criminal cases in different areas of UP and he is a sitting MLA of Badohi District from Samajwadi Party," the officer confirmed. Police suspect that a land dispute in Naini between Nandi and Mishra could be linked to the attack. Vijay Mishra is already wanted in several cases registered in Allahabad and Bhadohi districts.
Nandi ka kahani
The son of a postman, Nand Gopal Gupta (Nandi) has had a swift political rise. The man, who on his website claims to have done everything from hawking crackers by the roadside to selling polybags door-to-door, is now head of Nandi Group of companies, including a rice mill, Nandi Brand bricks, Janvi Sales, Abhinav Trading Company, and its most famous product -- ghee. His surprising win from the Allahabad (South) Assembly constituency against BJP veteran and six-time MLA Kesari Nath Tripathi in 2007 brought him into public notice.
