A court in Assam’s Karimganj district on Thursday sent a former Minister of the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s Cabinet and a Congress legislator to seven-day judicial custody for defying court summons.
The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Karimganj district on Thursday asked the police to arrest former Border Area Development Minister Siddique Ahmed and sent him to judicial custody. The court had earlier on March issued arrest warrant against the legislator after he failed to turn up before the court on several specified dates.
Ahmed was one of the accused in an assault case filed by one Razawool Karim, who alleged that he was assaulted by Ahmed and his men in 2011. The court while hearing the case, summoned Ahmed to present himself before the court.
After several summons were defied, the court on March 25 issued an arrest warrant against Ahmed and asked him to be present before the court on March 25. Ahmed did not turn up on March 25 and the court issued a roving arrest warrant against him.
Ahmed, however, went hiding after the development and appealed before the Gauhati High Court for anticipatory bail, which was rejected.
On Thursday, Ahmed went to the court of the Additional CJM, Karimganj and his counsel moved a bail petition. The court rejected the bail plea and asked the police to arrest him and send him to judicial custody.
Some of the supporters objected to the court’s direction and protested when the police wanted to arrest him. “We had to resort to mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd and finally took him to jail,” said Karimganj SP Bishnu Prasad Rabha.
He said that they have also arranged security for Karim, who had filed the case against Ahmed. “Security arrangements have also been intensified in and around Karimganj as some of the supporters have announced agitation programmes against the court orders,” he said.
This is the second incident of a Congress legislator being sent to judicial custody in recent times. The Gauhati High Court had earlier this month sent another Congress legislator from Barak Valley Rumi Nath for her nexus with car theft racket kingpin Anil Chauhan.
Ahmed, who was holding the Border Areas Development portfolio in Gogoi’s Cabinet, fell from the grace last year for his involvement in dissidence activities. Gogoi had dropped Ahmed and Ardhendu Dey, another senior Congress leader from the Cabinet.