Lalu Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan stir fizzles out as ‘dead’ boy returns

PATNA: The Bihar bandh on Monday ended in a whimper when the missing boy whose 'murder' was sought to be turned into political ammunition by Opposition parties turned up in Delhi with the girl he had eloped with.

RJD leader Lalu Prasad and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan took to the streets during the day to corner the Nitish Kumar-led government. However, Prashant Kumar Jha turned up at the Mehrauli police station in Delhi, along with Priti Chaudhary, with whom he had eloped last month, taking the sting out of the Opposition's campaign.

It was alleged that Jha, a resident of Arer village in Madhubani district, was killed by goons hired by the district programme officer and the girl's father, Jagatpati Chaudhary. When the police found a beheaded body, Jha's parents claimed that it was of their missing 17-year-old son. Jha's mother and grandmother even staged dharnas for possession of the body. Jha's appearance vindicated the claims of the Madhubani police, which had maintained throughout that the beheaded body was not his.