Rupam Pathak, accused of stabbing to death Bihar BJP MLA Raj Kishore Keshari, was on Thursday remanded in judicial custody for 14 days while the editor of a local weekly was arrested in connection with the murder.
Pathak, who had stabbed Keshari in full public view in his house at Sipahi Tola on January 4, was brought from Kathihar hospital by police and produced at the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate D. L. Prasad amid tight security.
She had been undergoing treatment at the Kathihar hospital after being badly assaulted by those present at Keshari’s residence during the incident.
She will be lodged at the divisional jail here following her remand.
Meanwhile, police launched a full—scale probe into the killing and arrested Navlesh Pathak, editor of local English weekly Quisling which had for the first time reported Rupam’s complaint about being sexually harassed by the MLA some months back.
The journalist was arrested after police lodged an FIR against him. The FIR also complained of conspiracy behind the murder.
Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who attended Keshari’s funeral on Wednesday, has ruled out a CBI probe into the killing.“There is no possibility of the State government handing over the inquiry into the Keshari murder case to CBI at the moment. We also don’t feel the necessity of ordering a judicial probe as the state police is fully competent to conduct the investigation,” he told journalists.
In a petition to the State Women’s Commission, Rupam’s mother Kumud Mishra also demanded a CBI probe alleging that Keshari and his aides had been “mentally and sexually torturing, harassing and threatening her constantly“.
She said, “It is wrong to say that my daughter is mentally unfit ... She was running her school satisfactorily.
She is innocent,” adding, “Keshari’s character is known to everybody in Purnea.”
Left parties in the State demanded immediate arrest of Keshari’s aide Bipin Rai and full protection to Rupam. They castigated the police for arresting the editor.
