BJP MlA from Rudrapur Assembly constituency Raj Kumar Thukral, who was absconding for over four months in connection with Rudrapur incident of October 2011, finally surrendered before a local court in Rudrapur on Wednesday.
However, the local court in Rudrapur after hearing arguments from both the parties in this case, rejected his bail plea and ordered to send him to Haldwani jail.
Interestingly, the Udham Singh Nagar police which had not been able to trace the whereabouts of the MlA for over four months, again failed to arrest Thukral before his surrender in the local court.
As media reports suggest Thukral was also sighted in the State Assembly premises in Dehradun in the recent past when the assembly session was on. But that time too the police on duty could not catch him.
In the meanwhile, Thukral while he was being taken to jail alleged that he had been falsely targeted in the October 2011 case of Rudrapur riot. "I have full faith in judiciary and will come out clean in this case," he added.
However, his supporters strongly criticised the Congress led State Government for dragging Thukral in this case. They were of the view that the Congress-led State Government is targeting Thukral as a political vendetta.
But the people of this region understand the Congress party's plan and would give a befitting reply to it in the times to come, they added.
Even the senior BJP leaders of Uttarakhand had strongly expressed their disappointment and anger over this episode. They had also met the then Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and later incumbent Harish Rawat urging them to resolve the issue. However, except assurances as the BJP leaders here allege, nothing was done in this case.
Four persons were killed and several others were injured when members of two different communities clashed in Rudrapur on October 2, 2011. Though the local administration managed to prevent further loss of lives in the following days, curfew had to be imposed for many days to maintain law and order in the city. In the meanwhile, keeping in view protest by Thukral supporters, security has been beefed up in the jail premises.