Image of a gavel (for representation).
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Lucknow: A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district issued an arrest warrant against UP transport minister Daya Shankar Singh in an old case after the minister skipped successive hearings.
Chief judicial magistrate Shailendra Kumar Pandey issued the arrest warrant on Monday against Singh and 14 others who were accused in a case of blocking the main road in the town during a protest in 2015.
The court has directed the police to arrest the minister and others and ensure their presence on the next date of hearing.
According to the police, Singh and his supporters had an altercation with the supporters of then UP minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Narad Rai over a tender. Singh and his supporters had staged demonstrations and squatted on the road for several hours.
A case was registered against Singh and some others in this connection and the chargesheet was filed in the court. Singh, however, failed to appear in the court despite repeated summons.
The minister said that he did not have any knowledge about the case.