BAREILLY: The court of additional district and sessions judge (ADJ) in Bareilly has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of SP MLA Shazil Islam Ansari on Friday. The Bhojipura MLA was recently booked following a viral video purportedly showing him using "objectionable language" against UP CM Yogi Adityanath and some BJP members.
Police registered a case against the MLA under IPC sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation). A few days later, his petrol pump "constructed on ceiling land that belonged to the state" was razed by Bareilly Development Authority (BDA).
The district administration is currently scrutinizing the MLA's properties, a BDA official said, adding they have received complaints that the MLA's farmhouse was built on Waqf land and a marriage hall on graveyard.
Friday's anticipatory bail application was filed under section 438 of CrPC by the MLA's counsel Ghanshyam Sharma in the court of ADJ-1 Suneel Kumar Verma. Sharma argued that his client "doesn't have any past criminal record and he was framed as part of political reprisal", while public prosecutor Sachin Jaiswal countered that "the MLA is an influential person and is not cooperating with police in the probe and, therefore, needs to be taken into custody for further questioning."
Additional district government counsel Santosh Srivastava said, "Based on the arguments, the honourable judge has rejected the MLA's plea."
