Bihar police on October 15 arrested Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) candidate from CPI-ML Aaftab Alam while he was filing his nomination papers to contest the upcoming state polls from Aurai constituency in Muzaffarpur. BJP Bihar claimed that Alam was accused of bombing Prime Minister Modi’s election rally in Patna. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, a series of bomb blasts had injured over 80 and killed six persons on October 27, 2013 hours before then Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was to address a rally in Gandhi Maidan, Patna. दुष्कर्म के आरोपी, भगोड़े की पत्नी, जिन्ना समर्थक, सबको टिकट दिए, अब तो पीएम मोदी की रैली में बम धमाकों के आरोपी को भी ‘माले’ से उम्मीदवार बना दिए हो। Tejashwi Yadav बाबू #ई_का_किए_हो ? Posted by BJP Bihar on Sunday, 18 October 2020 News18 Bihar also reported that Alam was accused of bombing PM Modi’s rally. “NIA had arrested Aaftab Alam from Muzaffarpur in a case pertaining to a series of bomb blasts that took place in Narendra Modi’s rally in Patna. He is currently out on bail,” wrote the outlet, later updating its report without citing any reasons for the change. National spokesperson of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Vinod Bansal tweeted, “While Aaftab Alam who blasted Modi ji’s Patna rally has been given a Congress ticket from Aurai, Maskoor Usmani, the anti-national who hanged Jinnah’s portrait is contesting on Congress’s ticket from Darbhanga. The party has further strengthened its 70 years of commitment to jihadists and terrorists.” मोदी जी की पटना रैली में ब्लास्ट करने वाले आतंकी आफताब आलम को औराई से तो जिन्ना की फोटो लगाने वाले देशद्रोही मशकूर उस्मानी को दरभंगा के जाले से कांग्रेस की टिकट। पार्टी ने इससे 70 वर्षों की अपनी जिहादियों व आतंवादियों के साथ प्रतिबद्धता को और मजबूत किया है!! — विनोद बंसल (@vinod_bansal) October 18, 2020 Several others who promoted the claim were Hindu Yuva Vahini member Yogi Devnath, Prashant Patel Umrao, Gaurav Pradhan, @Pushpendrakulss and Abhishek Kumar Khushwaha. Facebook page ‘The Chaupal’ also published a report claiming Alam was arrested for his involvement in the Patna blast case. पीएम मोदी की रैली में सीरीज ब्लास्ट करने वाले महागठबंधन उम्मीदवार आफताब आलम को पुलिस ने किया गिरफ्तार Posted by The Chaupal on Sunday, 18 October 2020 Alt News had debunked the false claim about Congress candidate Maskoor Usmani in an earlier report. Usmani did not hang Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s portrait at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The portrait has been inside the campus since 1938. Our detailed fact-check report can be read here. The claim about Aaftab Alam accused in the 2013 Patna blast case is also false. Alam was indeed arrested on October 15 however, for an old case related to obstruction of government work. An FIR was lodged against him at Katra police station, according to Aaj Tak. “Aaftab was arrested by the police as soon as he stepped out after filing his nomination papers. CPI-ML workers protested against his arrest but the cops did not pay heed and took Aaftab to present him in court,” said the report. “The police said that a complaint was filed against Aaftab Alam on August 20, 2020 at Katra police station for obstructing a government servant from carrying his duties,” added the report. Navbharat Times carried a similar article. A non-bailable warrant was issued against the grand alliance candidate. Alam said that he was arrested for staging a protest against the murder of Katra resident Dilip Rai. “This is vendetta and a political conspiracy,” he responded. On August 27, Dilip Rai was found hanging from a tree in Singwari, Katra. Rai was a khaini (tobacco) trader. The police said that the youth was murdered and subsequently hanged. The incident angered villagers who accused the police of failing to catch murder culprits in several past cases. Alam had staged a protest to demand the arrest of the perpetrators. He had also posted about the protest on August 27. “We will not hand over the dead body unless the SP arrives. It is the public’s demand that the SHO is dismissed…Such incidents regularly happen and the police leave after filling panchnama,” he wrote. Alam was subsequently booked under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructs any public servant in the discharge of his public functions), 188 (punishment for disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 353 (assault or criminal force used to deter public servant from discharging his duty), 504 (provocation to break public peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention). Alam was also booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. Katra police confirmed Alam’s arrest details with Alt News. The relevant portions of the FIR have been attached below.