Dharamsala: For not appearing in court in a case slapped on BJP MP Anurag Thakur for obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty, the chief judicial magistrate court here today issued non-bailable warrants.
The case was registered by state vigilance and anti corruption bureau over Thakur being summoned to present himself for questioning on September 24, 2013 in an alleged cheating case about HP Cricket Association’s functioning.
The day happened to be Anurag Thakur’s birthday. He had turned up at the bureau with supporters, who are reported to have staged a protest, forcing the investigators to postpone the summon date to 31 October.
The MP then had alleged that the bureau was deliberately harassing him by seeking his presence on his birthday.
Salpping section 186 of Indian Penal Code (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), the bureau had booked Thakur and five others.
Besides Thakur, CJM Jaswant Thakur issued non bailable warrants against Narender Attri, a Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha leader, who is said to have been part of the group that protested before the bureau in September.
Before issuing the warrants, the judge rejected Thakur’s application for exemption from personal appearance in the case and directed the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau’s to execute the order and produce both the accused in court on August 20.
Thakur’s counsel Abhimanyu Chopra had contended that due to the ongoing parliament session, the Hamirpur MP was unable to appear in the court.
However, the court rejected the application on the basis that no documentary proof had been provided to prove that the accused was an MP and nor had Thakur signed the application submitted for exemption from personal appearance.
Hemanshu Mishra, a co-accused in the case, against whom the court has issued bailable warrant in the last hearing was granted bail today after furnishing a bond of Rs. 10,000/-.
The other four accused in the case, which include former minister Praveen Sharma, MLA Varinder Kanwar, HPCA spokesperson Sanjay Sharma and a BJP office bearer Vishaw Chakshu Puri were present in court.
Arvind Sharma is an award winning bi-lingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
He has worked with Divya Himachal, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasker, Vir Partap, Ajit and PTI.
In 2010, he was conferred the Himachal Kesri journalism award. He reports on the Tibetan Government in Exile, politics, sports, tourism and other topics. He lives in Dharamshala.
