Pappu Yadav released from prison after being acquitted in 1998 murder case

Controversial former lawmaker, Pappu Yadav exited from prison in Patna after being acquitted by a court in the 1998 murder case of a regional communist leader.

Yadav, also known as Rajesh Ranjan, was sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of a rival politician in 1998, lawyers said.

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Ranjan was convicted for ordering assassins to shoot dead Ajit Sarkar, a popular leftist legislator, as he was going home after a rally in Bihar, said Sunil Kumar, one of the defence lawyers.

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The driver and a colleague of Sarkar also died in the attack.

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Yadav said that he has been a victim of state politics.

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"I have been a victim of politics by leaders in the state. I will see how to handle this in the future. I trust the judiciary and it is because of that I am free today," said Yadav.

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Social Watch India, an advocacy group, last year reported that more than 30 percent of Indian lawmakers aged between 36 and 45 were facing criminal charges.