Bihar BJP leader Giriraj Singh's arrest put on hold till May 3

Ranchi, April 29: A

court Tuesday suspended the order for the arrest of Bihar BJP leader

till May 3 for his hate speech during campaigning.

A Deoghar district court issued the order after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader filed a petition for his anticipatory bail.

Two first information reports were lodged against Giriraj Singh - one in Bokaro district and the second in Deoghar district of the state - on the instructions of the Election Commission.

He is the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Nawada constituency in Bihar.

In his speech April 18 while campaigning in Jharkhand, the BJP candidate said: "Those who are opposing BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi are supporters of Pakistan."

A Bokaro district court Monday denied anticipatory bail to him for the hate speech. It had issued an arrest warrant April 23 against him.

A Bokaro police team went to Bihar's capital Patna last week to arrest him but did not find him at his residence in the city.

A Patna court granted him anticipatory bail last week in another case relating to hate speeches.

IANS