A team of Dhanbad police on Tuesday went to the residence of the BJP’s Baghmara MLA Dhullu Mahto at Chitahi village, some 20km from Dhanbad, in connection with his alleged involvement in a case lodged on February 14 where a man from Barora accused the MLA and his men of trying to kill him.

The police couldn’t arrest the colourful MLA, known for making enemies and using his fists, as his family members, led by wife Savitri Devi, resisted their entry and claimed Dhullu was out since Tuesday night.

Four of the MLA’s supporters, Bittu Singh, Ajay Gorai, Dampi Mandal and Dharmendra Gupta, were rounded up, Dhanbad SSP Kishore Kaushal told The Telegraph.

While the first three were arrested in connection with the February 14 case, Dharmendra was held in another case of rioting of November 29, 2019. All four were sent to judicial custody.

On February 14, Barora resident Doman Mahto had lodged an FIR against Dhullu Mahto and many of his supporters, accusing them of trying to kill him, threatening him with arms and beating him up. Mahto alleged that the MLA had flashed “a revolver” at him and thrashed him and his family members when he tried to put a makeshift shop near the Ram Raj Mandir of Chitahi.

Local sources said that the MLA and his family treat Chitahi as their personal fiefdom.

The MLA’s wife Savitri, however, has vociferously protested against the raid on Wednesday morning.

When a large number of policemen and women constables led by Barora OC Binod Kumar Sharma raided the MLA’s house, Savitri, along with many women supporters, resisted the police. Explaining why, she later told the media: “The police tried to barge into my home in the morning when we women were busy in our domestic chores. When we tried to know what offence my husband had committed for which they were here, they failed to furnish any information and only said ‘Upar se aadesh hai (We have orders from higher-ups)’. They did not show us any documents or arrest warrant.”

She added: “My husband was away. I told the police that he will be back in the evening. But they (the police) used abusive language against us.”

Asked if the raid was a part of political vendetta after the change of guard in the state, Savitri said, “The new CM should not get carried away by false charges against my husband being levelled by his opponents. He is not the CM of one group of people, he is the CM of the entire state. If attempts to indict my husband in false cases continue, Baghmara’s women will agitate from the streets to the Assembly.”