Newly-elected Member of Parliament (MP) from Bihar’s Purnia, Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav, has been booked in an extortion case after a local businessman accused him of demanding Rs 1 crore. The police registered the case on Monday, following the complaint.
According to the statement issued by the police in Purnea district, the complainant, who operates a furnishing business in Pappu Yadav’s constituency, alleged that Pappu Yadav summoned him to his residence on June 4, the day of vote counting, and demanded the money. The businessman claimed that Pappu Yadav had made similar demands in 2021 and 2023, and threatened to kill him if he did not comply, warning that he would have to deal with the MP for the next five years.
The police have registered a case against Pappu Yadav and his close aide, Amit Yadav, at the Mofussil police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. An investigation is currently underway.
In response, Pappu Yadav has dismissed the allegations as a conspiracy orchestrated by those disturbed by his rising political influence. He took to social media platform X, asserting that this is a ploy by his adversaries and certain officials troubled by his popularity among the common people.
“Today, people troubled by my growing influence in national and state politics and the growing affection of the common people have hatched a disgusting conspiracy against me in Purnia,” Pappu Yadav wrote. He called for an impartial investigation supervised by the Supreme Court and demanded severe punishment for whoever is found guilty.
Pappu Yadav was recently elected to the Lok Sabha from the Purnea constituency, defeating two-term JD(U) MP Santosh Kushwaha by a margin of 23,847 votes. As an Independent candidate, Pappu Yadav secured over 5.67 lakh votes, while Santosh Kushwaha polled 5.43 lakh votes.
