Patna, Aug 14 (IANS): After Patna High Court acquitted former MLA Anant Singh, Bihar Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his pet line, ‘he neither protects nor frames anyone.’

“When Anant Singh was with us, he was a criminal and now he is with them he was acquitted. People clearly see how many people are saved and how many are framed,” Tejashwi Yadav said.

Earlier, the Patna High Court acquitted the former MLA Anant Singh in a 2019 Arms and Explosives Act case.

Singh, who was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison by an MP-MLA court in June 2022, was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.

Anant Singh, a former RJD MLA from Mokama, had a notorious reputation, with the 2019 police raid at his ancestral home uncovering an AK-47 rifle, 22 live cartridges, and two hand grenades.

Despite his conviction and subsequent loss of legislative assembly membership, his wife Neelam Devi won the Mokama by-election as an RJD candidate.

Tejashwi Yadav criticised Nitish Kumar particularly in light of Singh's wife, Neelam Devi, switching her support to JD-U during the trust vote on February 12, this year.

This shift raised suspicions of political manoeuvring, especially when Singh was granted parole during the Lok Sabha election, leading opposition leaders to accuse Nitish Kumar of influencing the legal process.

“It is a decision of the court and we respect it. We cannot make any statement over the court decision,” said minister Shrawan Kumar.