Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday granted relief to Baghmara’s BJP MLA Dhullu Mahto in one of the latest cases against him, the one lodged by his neighbour Doman Mahto on February 14.

The high court quashed the arrest warrant against Dhullu issued by a lower court in the case of rioting, Arms Act and attempt-to-murder lodged with Barora police station area in Baghmara block.

The one-member high court bench of Justice Ananda Sen even pulled up the police for raiding Dhullu’s house to try and arrest him.

The court observed that the warrant was issued by the district court in a hurry. The court further observed that there was no circumstance for police to show that the MLA was evading arrest but police pressed for a warrant in the court in a hurry and then carried out a raid against him. There was no reason for the district court to issue a warrant, the high court observed.

Neighbour in Chitahi village, Baghmara, Doman complained against Dhullu and his brother Sharad to the police on February 14 about an incident on April 29, 2019, when the two brothers and their aides allegedly thrashed Doman up and Dhullu flashed a gun at Doman to scare him off from opening a shop near a temple.

The police lodged an FIR based on Doman’s complaint on February 15. The court of principal district and sessions judge of Dhanbad, Basant Kumar Goswami, on February 18, issued the arrest warrant against Dhullu and his elder brother Sharad Mahto. The cops landed up at Dhullu’s home in the early hours of February 19, but the MLA was gone.

Dhullu is still absconding at a time his vote in the Rajya Sabha polls on March 26 would be crucial for the BJP.

However, the MLA with a knack for getting into trouble altogether has 33 cases pending against him in different courts.

The anticipatory bail application of Dhullu Mahto is pending in court of additional district and sessions judge of Dhanbad Rajeev Kumar Sinha in another case of rape and outraging the modesty of a woman lodged against him by a former BJP woman worker last year.

A fresh case was lodged by Rajiv Kumar Srivastava, nephew of former mines minister O.P. Lal on March 2 in Barora police station.

Rajiv charged Dhullu with illegal possession of land purchased by him (Rajiv) in Ledidumar area of Baghmara in 2014.

Rajiv said when he went to see his land in July 2019 along with his wife Nitu Rani and younger brother Amit Kumar, the Baghmara MLA along with another resident Subhash Singh and 10 other persons used filthy language at them while claiming that the land belonged to Dhullu.