Bihar minister's photo with accused in terror case goes viral

Patna, Sep 10 (IANS) An alleged photo of a Bihar minister with an accused booked in a terror case in Patna's Phulwari Sharif area having links with the Popular Front of India (PFI) went viral on social media on Saturday.

The minister seen in the photo is Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Mohammad Israil Mansuri, who was recently in news after he accompanied Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inside the Vishnupad temple in Gaya, which triggered a massive controversy. The shrine authorities do not allow a non-Hindu person inside the temple.

The latest controversy arose after a coaching centre operator, Mohammad Ikram, a native of Madipur in Muzaffarpur district, was seen standing alongside Mansuri at a public event in the photograph.

The National Investigation Agency had recently raided the coaching centre of Ikram as also his house in Muzaffarpur in connection with the Phulwari Sharif terror case and seized some documents and a laptop.

During a scan of the laptop, Ikram's photo with Mansuri was found.

When contacted, Mansoori clarified: "I don't know who is standing alongside me. When I became a minister in the Bihar government, there were so many people clicking photos with me. Many others took selfies as well. Some of them also requested that I put my hand on their shoulders. It is not possible for me to identify every person who meets me. I have no connection with him."