JD-U legislator arrested in Bihar

Sunil Pandey, a legislator of Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), was arrested on Saturday on the charge of helping a gangster to escape from judicial custody, police said.

Sachidanand Sharma alias Lambu Sharma, lodged in Ara jail, escaped from the Ara court premises after a bomb blast in January.

"A police team of Bhojpur has arrested Pandey in this connection after he was invited at a police station where he failed to reply on the charges against him," a police officer said.

A woman and a police constable were killed and 16 others injured in the Ara blast.

Pandey is the second JD-U legislator to be arrested in a criminal case in the past two weeks. Last month, Anant Singh was arrested in connection with a kidnapping-cum-murder.

Pandey, a bahubali legislator from Terari seat, was accused of facilitating the escape of Lambu Sharma.

According to police, Lambu Sharma informed them during interrogation that Pandey had given him a contract to kill Uttar Pradesh don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is at present lodged in Agra central jail.