58 percent of Bihar MLAs have criminal cases

As many as 142 -- or 58 percent -- of the newly-elected 243 Bihar legislators have criminal cases registered against them, according to a watchdog.

Of the total assembly members with criminal background, 98 (40 percent) have serious charges including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women, says the Bihar Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

Charges have been framed against 70 members with criminal background, it said.

"Out of the 142 MLAs who have declared pending criminal cases against them, 70 (49 percent) have declared that the charges for these cases have already been framed by the court of law," the study said.

Eleven legislators have cases related to murder and attempt to murder. Of these, four are from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

In 2010, of 228 legislators analysed, 76 (33 percent) had serious criminal cases against them, it said. - IANS