"Conspiracy to kill me," says Lalu's son Tej Pratap Yadav
What's the story
On Sunday, a disturbing video from Patna emerged on social media. The bodyguards of RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav were seen thrashing a video journalist in the Bihar capital. As the video garnered attention, Tej, who is the elder son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, said a conspiracy is being hatched to kill him. The incident happened after Tej cast his vote in Patna.
What happened
Cameraman was roughed up. He tried to escape but couldn't
The video purportedly shows a man being roughed up by Tej's bodyguards. The cameraperson, who wore a t-shirt, can be seen holding onto his bag while men beat him. When he tried to escape, they caught him again and assaulted him. Several other camerapersons were present at the spot, who filmed the incident. The video showed that police officials tried to stop the bodyguards.
Reaction
Defending his bodyguards, Tej said he is being 'attacked'
Speaking on the incident, Tej claimed his bodyguards didn't do anything wrong. "I was leaving after casting my vote when a photographer hit the windscreen of my car. I have filed an FIR in the incident. A conspiracy is being hatched to kill me," Tej told media. Tej went on to claim that he has received threats and is being "attacked continuously".
Constituency
Notably, Tej is a voter of high-profile Patna seat
Interestingly, Tej came to the polling booth in an e-rickshaw. He revealed since his vehicle was taking time, he chose to come like a common man. For the high-profile seat of Patna, Congress has fielded BJP turncoat Shatrughan Sinha to fight Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Sinha, who has been critical of BJP, is hoping he scores a hat-trick from the closely watched seat.
Looking back
Earlier, Kejriwal said BJP wants to get him killed
Notably, Tej isn't the only politician who believes someone wants to kill him. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his PSOs report to BJP and the saffron party will get him assassinated like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His statement sparked a war of words with BJP's Praveen Shankar Kapoor saying that either Kejriwal should apologize to Delhi police or resign.
Quote
Kapoor said Kejriwal's security staff should be given psychological counseling
"I believe the entire security squad around Arvind Kejriwal must be facing mental depression after hearing their protectee's statement fearing death at their hands. All security staff deployed around Arvind Kejriwal should be given psychological counseling," Kapoor said.