The plan was to arrest him as soon as he showed up at the election meeting. But Samajwadi legislator Vijay Mishra,who has an arrest warrant against him,not only smelt out the trap but also rubbed salt by addressing the gathering via cellphone. The MLA from Handia,which comes under the Bhadohi Lok Sabha constituency,was to attend the public meeting held for party candidate Chote Lal Bind in Sarpata area on Sunday. The rally was also to be attended by Samajwadi chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. A police team from Allahabad was waiting at the rally site in plainclothes pretty sure that would be able to nab Mishra,against whom an FIR was lodged on April 15 for registering a false case of attempt to murder. And then came the shocker. One of the rally organizers walked to the microphone and attached a cellphone to it. It was a call from Mishra,who had taken up the task of keeping the gathering involved till Mulayam,who was late,reached the venue. The police team played a mute spectator as the innovative MLA,considered a strongman,even taunted them indirectly in his five-minute call. The government is targeting me,let our party return to power and then we will answer, he warned over the cellphone,referring to the battery of cops present on the spot. Mulayam,who reached the venue as Mishra was speaking,added to the rhetoric. My party MLAs are being booked on trivial issues so that they cannot reach out to voters, he said. All that the police could do after the meeting was register an FIR against Om Prakash Yadav,the man who attached the cellphone to the mike,and seize the cellphone. The police caught Om Prakash and took him to the police station. After several rounds of talks with officials,Om Prakash was released, said district SP chief Jahid Beg. Om Prakash,on his part,said: During the public meeting,a supporter brought a cellphone to me and said MLA Mishra wanted to address the meeting. I attached the cellphone with the mike and after the speech was completed I returned the supporters cellphone. Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Kumar,confirming that the Allahabad police were at the venue waiting for Mishra,said they were looking for the man who provided the cellphone. The FIR against Mishra relates to a complaint by him on April 11,alleging that unidentified men had attacked him,injuring his gunner Sanjay Maurya and two others. During investigation,it was found that the bullets had been fired from the carbine of the gunner.
