Patna: The presence of a murder accused evading an arrest warrant at a public meeting of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) caused him embarrassment as the incident belied Mr Kumar’s claims of the rule of law in Bihar. The man has been arrested within hours following a media outcry.
Mohammad Javed Khan, the JD(U)’s Gaya district minority wing president, was named in the police FIR as one of three accused for the murder in April 2013 of property dealer Naushad Khan. Yet he presided over Nitish Kumar’s public meeting in Gaya and put a cap on the Bihar Chief Minister’s head on Friday. Mr Kumar addressed him in his speech as “Janab Javed Khan sahib”.
On Saturday, Mr Kumar sought to explain away the matter. “I was not aware of this man’s antecedents. But he was promptly arrested by the police, which shows the rule of law prevails in Bihar and must be praised,” Mr Kumar told reporters.
