Tej Pratap Yadav, an aide, a ‘theft’, and a case of two FIRs

On Wednesday, Tej Pratap said he was removing Rai as national general secretary of his Janshakti Janata Dal with immediate effect, and that its national and state organisational units were being dissolved. He announced Mishal Kumar Sinha as the party’s national media in-charge and his new personal assistant.

Tej Pratap’s allegations against Rai follow an FIR registered against both of them at Patna’s Patliputra Police Station last week, based on a complaint submitted on June 10 by Akash Gaurav a.k.a Akash Yadav. Gaurav is a former RJD leader and the brother of a woman who was at the centre of a social media controversy involving Tej Pratap last year.

Gaurav alleged that Tej Pratap, the son of RJD founder Lalu Prasad, and Rai had tried to forcibly enter his residence on June 6, and subsequently threatened his family over the phone.

Following the registration of the FIR, Tej Pratap issued a statement on social media describing the complaint by Gaurav as “false and fabricated”, and calling it part of a “planned attempt” to tarnish his public image. He had always respected the law and “democratic values”, Tej Pratap said.

He also shared images of a legal notice sent by him on June 7 to Gaurav, alleging that the latter had made abusive calls and threatened him.

Their history

In May 2025, Tej Pratap put up a Facebook post with a woman, claiming they had been in a relationship for 12 years. The woman was Gaurav’s younger sister. Tej Pratap is married but estranged from his wife.

Tej Pratap later pulled down the Facebook post, and claimed his social media account had been hacked and the images doctored. But as the controversy refused to die down,
Lalu expelled Tej Pratap from the RJD and publicly disowned his son.

At the time, Gaurav defended both his sister and Tej Pratap, while criticising Lalu and Tej Pratap’s younger brother Tejashwi Yadav. But the row cost Gaurav membership of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, which he had joined after leaving the RJD.

The June 10 complaint

In the complaint, Gaurav alleged that on June 6 night, while he was not in town, Tej Pratap and Rai arrived at his residence in Patna, demanding to meet his sister. Gaurav said his family members said they did not wish to let in anyone at that hour.

Gaurav alleged that Tej Pratap and Rai attempted to force their way in, and his family members finally relented after Tej Pratap said he needed to use the washroom. However, once in, Gaurav said, Tej Pratap refused to leave.

Subsequently, Gaurav said in his FIR, he got a phone call telling him to keep the June 6 incident “confidential”, and more threatening calls against going to police, including allegedly from someone claiming to be “associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang”. Gaurav claimed to have preserved the voice notes, call records and CCTV footage as evidence.

Gaurav sought registration of a case on charges of criminal conspiracy, organised crime, criminal trespass, assault, criminal intimidation and intentional insult, and sought protection for himself and his family.

Police said that a purported gang connection has not been verified. Confirming the registration of the June 10 FIR, then Patna ASP (Law and Order) Divyanjali Jaiswal had said: “It is written in the application that he (Gaurav) got a threatening call from a US number. He has provided an audio recording… An investigation will be conducted into the call and voice notes.”

Jaiswal has since been promoted to SP and transferred.

The new row has hit at a time when Tej Pratap appeared to be moving closer to his family again, sharing photographs of meetings with Lalu, Tejashwi and mother Rabri Devi.

Gaurav had re-shared one of those posts on his own social media.