Politically, they were untouchable for even Lalu Prasad Yadav, the brash rail minister who appointed Kumar in 2004.
At the same time, Yadav's opponents have been staging rallies calling for his ouster.
Passengers reported the men appeared to be Indians, said Sharad Yadav, India's civil aviation minister.
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Three days later he was sworn in by another newcomer, Nepal's first president, Ram Baran Yadav.
The idea is to crush Mr Yadav between two jaws of the caste vice.
Bihar, long a laggard in development, has slipped back further since Mr Yadav took over.
In getting rid of Mr Yadav, the government has thrown out a rotten egg.
Unconvinced, Mr Yadav, whose party was among the hooligans in parliament, withdrew its support from the government.
The 56 people charged in connection with the fraud include three ministers in Mr Yadav's state government.
In 1997, Mr Yadav was forced to step down as chief minister after being charged with corruption.
Mr Yadav assured the students his party's government would do everything possible to secure the boy's release.
Born poor, Yadav was studying law at Patna University when he was drawn into politics in the 1970s.
The central government, which tried to dismiss Mr Yadav's government last year, is not prepared to try again.
As his last name denotes, Yadav is a member of the dairymen's caste.
Mr Yadav, whose support is vital, is determined to be part of the next government, with or without Congress.
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Mr. Yadav, in the March debate in Parliament, called for shelters for such couples, noting the immense harassment they face.
After all, Yadav is the president of Gujral's own party, the Janata Dal, the largest single party in the Front.
"Yadav is the man underprivileged groups in the state have looked up to as their main leader, " says academic V.
"Somebody has to stand up and speak out, " says Yogendra Yadav, political analyst and member of the as yet-unnamed party.
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But now, the promotion of Pathan, Dhoni and Yadav in the batting order has been part of a planned strategy.
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Such political fatalism may protect Mr Yadav's base, but it also feeds the follow-the-leader voting his rivals are counting on.
It was Congress-Samajwadi rivalry that failed to extend the last parliament: Mr Yadav refused to back a minority Congress government.
If there is a breakup in the Janata Dal, Yadav could ask his MPs to leave the Front and join Kesri.
The district's senior administrator, Sanjay Yadav, said that more than 20 villages had been evacuated due to fears of fresh landslides.
Among the accused are several of Yadav's cronies in the Bihar government, three former cabinet ministers and a host of top-ranking officials.
Mr. Yadav issued a presidential order to make way for the chief of the judiciary to become the head of the executive.
They have been voting for the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
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