JOIN USSahara chief Subrata Roy’s surrender, his subsequent arrest and appearance before a local court was preceded and succeeded by high drama.
The air was thick with anticipation of Roy’s arrest on Friday after the police failed to execute the NBW issued by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. A large posse of media personnel assembled at the entrance of Sahara Shahar, Roy's sprawling residence on the banks of the Gomti.
A police team arrived at Sahara Shahar around 10 am and later told reporters that Roy had been arrested after he surrendered. It was not clear if Roy had called the police as he had claimed. The sources from inside Sahara Shahar said that Roy had called two senior doctors from Sahara hospital and could plead illness to avoid appearance in the court as he feared being sent to jail.
Five hours after being arrested, Roy came out of the Sahara Shahar in a luxury vehicle with a large cavalcade that also included a few police vehicles.
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Anand Kumar had already arrived and the court was waiting for Roy to be produced before it.
Roy’s lawyer Padam Kirti said that the Sahara chief had arrived in the court premises a little after 3pm but was produced before the CJM around 5pm. The judge expressed his anguish and sought to know why it took so long for the police to produce Roy in the court.