Haryana legislators who are facing trial over Karnal's village Sarpanch’s suicide, failed to get any respite on Thursday as Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected their anticipatory bail plea and directed them to appear before a trial court in a week’s time.
legislators OP Jain and Zile Ram Sharma accused of abetting the suicide of a village headman in Karnal district on June 2011 had sought anticipatory bail after non-bailable warrants were issued against them by a Central Bureau of Investigation special court in Panchkula last month. Both the MlAs then appealed before the High Court for getting anticipatory bail. High Court stayed their arrest till September 10 and the legislators were asked to appear before the CBI court first and then seek regular bail.
Both legislators have been on the run since the CBI filed a charge sheet against them last month. They had earlier refused to accept court summons.
The two legislators were booked on June 2011 following the mysterious death of Karam Singh near Karnal district. His body was found near the National Dairy Research Institute with stab wounds.Just a day before his murder, the village headman who was in his late 50s gave a complaint against Jain and Sharma to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and police about an alleged fraud committed by them.
Karam Singh’s son in a complaint submitted to the police, accused Jain and Sharma for duping his father of nearly Rs 13 lakh on the pretext of providing government jobs to his son and two nephews. But they neither provided the jobs nor returned the money. A witness to the village headmen’s death, Chamail Singh, was found death under mysterious circumstances a week after his death.
Then CBI filed a charge sheet against them earlier this month after the Haryana Police which was investigating into the murder case gave clean chit to both the legislators. However the investigation was found to be shoddy following which the High Court, in August last year, handed over the probe to CBI.