Police raid Sahara chief's home, does not find him

Armed with Supreme Court's non- bailable warrant, a team of Lucknow police today raided the house of Sahara chief Subrata Roy to arrest him but failed to find him there.

High drama marked the police action as a  team of Gomti Nagar police station reached 'Sahara City' housing his residence  at about 4.30 pm to execute the warrant and conducted searches inside the residence.

Entry into and exit from the premises, which is spread in over 270 acres, was barred but the police exercise did not yield fruit. "The team is there to execute the non-bailable warrant issued by Supreme Court", Circle officer, Gomti Nagar, VS Mishra told PTI.

SHO Gomti Nagar Ajit Singh Chauhan said that Roy was not present inside the Sahara Shahar premises. "We have searched the premises. Roy was not found there", he told reporters after coming out of the residence.

Another official said they met her mother and doctors but Roy was not there. Roy's lawyers had told the court yesterday he was on the bed side of his ailing mother and holding her hands. Asked whether the police searched Sahara hospital, Chauhan said that Roy was also not present there.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Trans Gomti, Habibul Hasan told PTI that police would do whatever it could to execute the NBW issued by the Supreme Court and produce Roy before the court on March 4, the deadline set by it.

Asked about Roy's ailing mother, Hasan said that she was there at home. Roy's lawyer had yesterday told the Supreme Court that he was with his ailing mother so he could not appear before it.