Pappu Yadav gets life for MLA’s murder

Pappu Yadav, the don-turned-politician from Purnea who shot into the limelight in the early ’90s, has been lodged at the Tihar Jail in Delhi for about two years now. He was brought to the Patna court for today’s verdict. Pappu, who is the Madhepura MP, said he was innocent and would challenge the verdict in a higher court.

Sarkar’s widow, Madhavi, a CPI-ML (Liberation) leader, said Pappu had got what she had desired. “I never wanted a death sentence. It would have spared him the pain of dying each day,” she said from Kolkata.

CPI(M) MLA Ajit Sarkar was gunned down on June 14, 1998 just outside Purnea town. He died on the spot after some men on motorcycles sprayed bullets on him. His elder brother, Kalyan Sarkar, was an eyewitness to the crime and later identified the killers.

One person who was identified was Tiwary, a criminal and sharpshooter who was later elected as an independent MLA from Govindganj in West Champaran. Pappu Yadav was charged with masterminding the murder of his political rival. The matter was handed over to the CBI in 2002.

Ajit Sarkar, the revolutionary Left leader, shot into prominence in Purnea district during the ’70s for waging a relentless battle against the big landlords in the region. Like the Naxalites, he would capture land and distribute it among the landless. This made him a hero of the downtrodden but annoyed the landlords. From 1980 till his death, Sarkar continued to be elected as an MLA from Purnea.

In the ’90s, Sarkar crossed swords with Pappu Yadav. Pappu was with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, before he fell out and joined Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party. But during the last general elections, he once again aligned with the RJD and contested the Madhepura Lok Sabha seat vacated by Lalu. His wife Ranjeeta Ranjan is an LJP MP from Saharsa.