Former BJP lawmaker arrested over Ram Navami 'communal violence' in Bihar

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Former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Jawahar Prasad has been arrested by Bihar Police in connection with its investigation into communal clashes that erupted during a Ram Navami procession in Sasaram district in March this year.

The BJP alleged that the former Sasaram legislator was arrested to "appease" the minorities.

Prasad, a five-term MLA from Sasaram assembly seat, was arrested from his house on Friday night.

A court in Rohtas had issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

Sasaram and Bihar Sharif, the district headquarters of Rohtas and Nalanda districts respectively, had witnessed violence following during Ram Navami processions on March 31 and April 1. One person was killed in the clashes.

Commenting on Prasad's arrest, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters on Saturday, "Police are investigating the matter. The guilty will be brought to book, irrespective of their political affiliation. Investigators are doing their job. I never intervene in the police probe."

The BJP, on the other hand, claimed that Prasad was arrested to further the "appeasement politics" of the ruling alliance.

BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand, in a statement, said, "The communal violence in Sasaram was completely state-sponsored just to prevent the BJP from celebrating Emperor Ashok's birth anniversary in which Union Home Minister Amit Shah was the chief guest."

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"The person who was killed in the riot belonged to the OBC category. And now the state government wants to make a popular OBC leader (Prasad) a scapegoat in the case," it said.

The BJP claimed that the Nitish Kumar government wanted to book Prasad and other subaltern leaders as culprits to further its "appeasement politics".

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