Patna, July 13 The police in Bihar's Samastipur, on Sunday, arrested a youth for allegedly threatening on social media to kill Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan, officials said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Meraj, was arrested from the Teghra locality in Begusarai.
Durgesh Dipak, Sub-Divisional Police Officer-cum-Station House Officer of the cyber cell, confirmed the arrest, saying that Meraj had issued the threat from a social media account named 'Tiger Miraj Idrisi' on July 20.
The matter came to light when YouTuber Daksha Priya interviewed Chirag Paswan, following which Meraj, who follows Daksha Priya, commented, "On July 20, Chirag Paswan will be killed by me. I would blow him up using a bomb."
Taking the death threat to Chirag Paswan seriously, LJP Spokesperson Rajesh Bhatt lodged a written complaint at the Patna Cyber Police Station, and an FIR was registered based on an application by the party's Samastipur district president, Anupam Kumar alias Hira Singh.
Following the complaint, the police launched an investigation and tracked Meraj to Teghra in Begusarai.
"We received the lead from the statement of another social media user who commented that the person who had threatened Chirag Paswan is a mentally challenged person. We have immediately traced the location of that user and briefly questioned him. He revealed the whereabouts of Mohammad Meraj in Begusarai," SDPO-cum-SHO said.
"Accordingly, we then conducted a raid and arrested him in Teghra locality. After initial questioning, we have handed over Meraj to the Patna Police for further investigation to ascertain the motive behind the threat and whether he was acting at someone else's behest."
The arrest has eased concerns about the safety of Chirag Paswan to some extent.
Following the threat, LJP(RV) MP from Jamui Assembly constituency, Arun Bharti, had demanded that the state government increase the security cover for Chirag Paswan through a social media post.
Patna Police are currently questioning Meraj to gather further details regarding the threat issued against Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
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