Patna, 17 April

 A court in Bihar's Patna district on Thursday remanded RJD MLA Ritlal Yadav and his three associates to 14-day judicial custody in connection with an extortion case.

Yadav and his associates, who were wanted in connection with the case, surrendered before the Danapur court earlier in the day.

The RJD MLA, who represents the Danapur constituency, and his three associates -- Chikku Yadav, Pinku Yadav and Shravan Yadav – were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.

Speaking to reporters at Danapur court, Yadav said, "I am a victim of a political conspiracy... there is a threat to my life... I might be killed. If I remain alive, I will file papers seeking bail. There are certain officials who are against me... I repeat: there is a threat to my life."

"A conspiracy was being hatched for the last several months to eliminate me. A sophisticated weapon was made available to my rivals by some officials to kill me," the MLA alleged.

Speaking to PTI, Patna-West Superintendent of Police Sharat RS said Yadav and his associates surrendered before the Danapur court in Patna and other proceedings were underway.

"He and his associates were wanted in an extortion case," the SP said.

Bihar Police had on 11 April conducted searches at several locations related to the RJD MLA and his close associates as part of its investigation into the extortion case.

Police had conducted the searches at 11 places in Danapur and other localities in the state capital after registering an FIR against Yadav and five others on the basis of a complaint filed by a Patna-based builder.

"The complainant (builder) alleged that he was getting extortion and life-threatening calls from the accused for the last several days. There were also allegations that the accused forged certain documents related to a property.

"The complainant was constructing an apartment in Khagaul area of Patna. During the searches, police seized several incriminating documents and materials, including Rs 10 lakh in cash, cheques of Rs 77 lakh, six blank cheques, 14 deed documents related to the sale and purchase of properties and 17 cheque books," Patna Police had said on 11 April.

All accused were absconding when searches were conducted in Patna on 11 April.