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.

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.

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

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

“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.

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. (ANI)