Patna, Oct 4 (IANS): A local court in Bihar's Madhepura on Monday acquitted four-time MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav in a 32-year-old kidnapping case.

Pappu Yadav, who was lodged in jail since last five months, was arrested when he was engaged in welfare works for people during the Covid pandemic's second wave. Sources link the development with the coming by-elections to the Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur Assembly seats.

Following the acquittal, a large number of Jan Adhikar Party supporters assembled at the Madhepura court and shouted slogans in Pappu Yadav's favour.

"I have been lodged in jail for last 5 months in a case where common people cannot be lodged for a single day. It is an emergency-like situation in the country where common people are being killed. It is dictatorial rule where farmers are being killed. Despite all that, truth always wins," Pappu Yadav said.

He and his JAP allege that his arrest was political vendetta by the ruling alliance for exposing BJP's Saran MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy for keeping around 40 ambulances unused position during the severe second wave.

Pappu Yadav was arrested for kidnapping after an FIR was registered in Madhepura's Murliganj police station on January 29, 1989 where Sailandra Yadav claimed that his cousins Rajkumar Yadav and Umakant Yadav, close associates of Pappu Yadav, were kidnapped by latter's men.

However, "victim" Rajkumar Yadav claimed -- at a time Pappu Yadav was arrested five months ago -- that it was a case of confusion.

"I and Umakant were made to sit in the vehicle of Pappu Yadav on January 28, 1989. After few hours, we came out from his house and reached Madhepura. We initially thought that we were kidnapped... it turned out to be nothing but confusion."

JAP state chief Raghwendra Kushwaha said: "The legal aspect of entire so-called kidnapping was extremely shocking. In this case, Pappu Yadav was arrested in 1989. As per legal proceedings, police had to submit the charge sheet in 90 days after the FIR. Madhepura police unable to file the charge sheet and he got bail.

"Pappu Yadav won the 2014 parliamentary election from Madhepura and the Central government had allotted him Y-threat security. It means, whenever he visited any place in the country, he used to inform the police of district concerned and the police administration of respective districts had to provide additional security to him apart from his Y-threat security which comprises 6 CRPF personnel at one time."

"He visited Madhepura and other districts of Bihar several times. He was openly involved in campaigning in Assembly election 2020. Why did the state police not arrest him in the kidnapping case considering he was declared as fugitive in that case," Kushwaha said.

Pappu Yadav's lawyer Vishal Thakur said: "There were 11 persons booked in that 32 year-old so-called kidnapping case and 4 of them were acquitted. Pappu Yadav was among those 7 accused who were being declared fugitive by Bihar Police.

"When he was lodged in Tihar jail, did the Bihar Police not know the address? When, he was MP from 2014 to 2019 and had official residences in Madhepura, Patna and Delhi, why had Bihar Police declared him a fugitive. He visited Madhepura several times during Bihar Assembly election 2020 as well."