Lalu Prasad’s nephew Nagendra Rai and sons – ‘perennial troublemakers’ for RJD first family

When Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav assured stern action against those guilty in the Rupaspur attack case — in which Dobhi Nagar Panchayat executive officer Arvind Kumar Singh was grievously injured on Tuesday night – it brought Nagendra Rai, the nephew of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, back under spotlight.

The two main accused in the case — Tanuj Yadav and Nayan Yadav — are sons of Nagendra, 54. And they are, so far, absconding. The police has only managed to arrest one accused, Ranjan Kumar Singh.

Although Lalu has publicly maintained distance from his nephew — who has been facing five cases of extortion and criminal intimidation — Nagendra continues to evade strong punitive action. There are allegations that the sons of Nagendra – Lalu’s grand-nephews – are escaping police action in this case because of the “protection” they enjoy due to their family ties.

A graduate and a part-time Bhojpuri singer, Nagendra was booked by the Danapur (Patna) police on March 13, 2023 for demanding Rs 3 crore extortion from a Patna builder, for allowing him to construct a multi-storeyed business complex along Danapur-Khagaul Road. The 13-katha land, valued at over Rs 22 crore, is owned by one Subhash Rai, who has got into an agreement with Patna builder Nitin Kumar to raise a building over the land. Nagendra, who had earlier also allegedly indulged in extortion against Subhash Rai in 2017, has been chargesheeted in the case, but is out on bail.

The son of Lalu’s elder brother Mahavir, Nagendra had settled in Patna years ago after constructing a house on a plot in Gola Road in Danapur’s Rupaspur. Claiming to have studied at University of Delhi in his Facebook account, Nagendra had launched his career as a part-time