Criminals wanting to become lawmakers?

It’s no big deal in the Indian state of Bihar, where about 28 per cent of the candidates contesting assembly polls are facing criminal charges that include murder, extortion, kidnapping and robbery, a new study says.

“The collective data or figure of different political parties revealed that 446 of 1,607 candidates in the fray for four phase polls of 243 assembly constituencies, which come to 28 per cent of total number, are facing criminal cases,” T. Shastry, chairman of a non-governmental organisation called Association for Democratic Reforms, said.

In the last assembly battle in February, of the 1,528 candidates fielded by main political parties, 454 had criminal cases pending in courts. And of the 243 winners, 102 were accused in one criminal case or the other.

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… Even celebs like breaking the law

She is only 24, a celeb and a criminal? She has been on probation five times and in jail three times.

Actress Lohan Lindsay hoped 2011 would give her time to rebuild her troubled life after her legal saga last year, when the courts confined her to months of rehab until early January.

Her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley has received a fresh round of bad news about her client’s new charge — felony grand theft; she is accused by a trendy Venice, California jewellery boutique of stealing a $2,500 necklace from their shop last month.

Conviction could bring a maximum sentence of three years behind bars.

And since Lohan remains on probation, the charges could mean immediate jail time for probation violation.

While the case was under investigation, the actress apparently claimed that the necklace she is accused of swiping was loaned to her — and that, unbeknownst to LiLo, her stylist simply forgot to return it in time.