Lalu patronised main accused in Bhagalpur riot: JD(U)

Patna, Nov 29 (UNI) The JD(U) today alleged that RJD president and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad had patronised the main accused in the 1989 Bhagalpur riot and suddenly disposed all related cases.

National spokesman of the party Shivanand Tiwari told reporters here that Kameshwar Yadav, who was recently convicted as the main accused in the Bhagalpur riot case, was protected by the RJD president.

He said after the riot, the then Railway Minister George Fernandes had sought report from the Bihar government to pay compensation to those killed in the railway premises, but no action had been taken in this regard.

''Had the then Bihar government sent a report on the victims of the riot, they could have already received a compensation of Rs six lakh each,'' Mr Tiwari said.

Former Bihar minister Faiyaz Bhagalpuri, who was also present in the press conference, said, ''Kameshwar regularly visited Mr Prassad when the latter was the chief minister of the state.'' The RJD president had also tried to impress upon the Muslim community to forgive Kameshwar for his role in the worst-ever massacre in Bahagalpur, in which hundreds of people lost their lives,'' he added.

UNI