Bihar polls: Congress leader held for keeping cash to lure voters

Acting on a tip-off, police raided a hotel in Barauni in the district and took Rayka, who is also in-charge of Bihar affairs, Kumar and six others into custody for allegedly keeping cash to lure people to join an election rally, Circle Officer Ramesh Prasad said.

They were brought to Barauni police station and were later released on personal bonds, he said.Congress leaders have been criss-crossing Bihar to campaign for their party in the Assembly polls. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to address an election rally here later today.

Rayka claimed the money seized from them was that of the party and was meant for poll expenses."We have been falsely implicated by the authorities here at the behest of opponents under a well-hatched conspiracy to defame us", he said.

Rayka said the money was "seized from a hotel room and there is no no evidence to prove the charge that it will be used for influencing the voters"."We will expose the conspiracy hatched by our political opponents", he said.