Two persons have been arrested for allegedly raising anti-national slogans, while celebrating the victory of RJD candidate Sarfaraz Alam in the Araria Lok Sabha bypoll, police said on Friday.

A video footage, which has gone viral on the social media, shows a group of people allegedly raising “anti-India” and “pro-Pakistan” slogans, while flashing the victory sign near Alam’s residence after the declaration of the bypoll results on Wednesday.

Advertisement

Taking cognizance of the video, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Araria town police lodged an FIR against a group of persons — three named, the rest unidentified — under various sections of the IPC and IT Act.

“Two persons named in the FIR — Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Sultan — have been arrested. The third accused, Mohammad Abid, will be nabbed soon,” District Magistrate, Araria, Himanshu Sharma said.

Alam had defeated the BJP’s Pradeep Kumar Singh by over 60,000 votes in the bypoll.

Reacting to the development, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav said in Patna, “Let the matter be thoroughly investigated. Videos that go viral are not always authentic. Moreover, those named as accused may not necessarily be our party workers.”

On Thursday, Yadav had taken strong exception to Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s statement that the RJD victory would convert Araria into a terrorist hub.

“Does he not remember that the seat was with the RJD since 2014, when Alam’s father, the late Mohammad Taslimuddin, got elected from there? Was it a terrorist hub during that period? If yes, what was the government, of which Singh is a part, doing,” he said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders had also slammed the “hub of terror” comment by Girijraj Singh.

Reacting to RJD victory in the Araria Lok Sabha byoll on Wednesday, Giriraj Singh had said that the district bordering West Bengal and Nepal will become a “hub of terror”.

“This is not only a threat to Bihar but also to the country. It will be a hub of terror,” Singh, who is Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said.

Former Bihar deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that Singh should ask Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to step down if he has no faith in Kumar’s leadership.