Former RLP worker arrested for ‘issuing death threats’ to MP Upendra Kushwaha

According to the Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikeya Sharma, Kushwaha received seven threatening calls and a message on his official mobile number on June 19 – all allegedly made in the name of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The calls were allegedly made over speculation that Rajya Sabha MP was rethinking alliances ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly election.

Kushwaha’s RLP is currently part of the National Democratic Alliance.  The leader had attended Prime Minister rally in Siwan Friday.

Kushwaha had tweeted about the threats late Thursday, claiming he had received calls from two mobile numbers between 8:52 pm and 9:20 pm.

“…at 8:57 PM, I received an MMS/SMS…stating that if I continue to speak politically against a particular party, I will have to face the consequences, and that I would be finished within 10 days,” the Rajya Sabha member’s post on X said, urging the Patna Police to take action.

SSP Sharna said an FIR had been registered at Secretariat Police Station Friday under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act based on a written complaint by his (Kushwaha’s) personal assistant.

The Special Intelligence Unit conducted a technical investigation to trace the origin of the calls, he said.

The SSP claimed that the mobile phone used in the incident has been recovered from the accused. “We have also recovered a diary from him which contains the contact numbers of several prominent individuals and various other people. He had attempted to contact several people and in the course of this, he spoke to the MP on three occasions,” he said.

During interrogation police learnt “the accused thought that Kushwaha might join another party, which is why he issued the threats”. “He claims to be his (Kushwaha’s) supporter but was recently dissatisfied with some of his statements, which led to the threats,” SSP Sharma said, adding that the suspect had no link with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.