Sahara chief in police custody

After evading arrest for two days, Sahara group chief Subrata Roy was arrested on Friday after he surrendered before police.

Roy, produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Ananad Kumar later in the day, was remanded in police custody till March 4, when he is to be produced before the Supreme Court. Police have lodged Roy in the Forest Guest House in Kurkrail, a picnic spot in the city. Roy is likely to be flown to Delhi on March 4 for his Supreme Court appearance.

Police sources said Roy was taken into custody at Sahara Shahar, his sprawling residence, around 10 am. There was high drama at Sahara Shahar over his arrest.

In court, the public prosecutor sought Roy's custody till March 4. Roy requested that he be allowed him to stay at home under custody. The court, after hearing both parties, reserved its order and ordered the media out of the courtroom.

After an hour, the CJM ordered that Roy be sent to police custody. The court said it was for the police to decide where to keep him. It also ordered that he must be produced before the apex court before 2 pm on Tuesday.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had conducted searches at Sahara Shahar and Sahara Hospital here to execute a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued by the Supreme Court, but could not find Roy there.

The apex court had issued a NBW against Roy on Wednesday after he failed to appear before it in a case of refunding money to investors.

Meanwhile, Roy on Thursday failed to get relief from the apex court, which declined to hear his plea to cancel the NBW. Senior advocates Ram Jethmalani and Ravi Shankar Prasad urged a two-judge bench headed by Justice K S Radhakrishnan to take up Roy’s application. But, the bench maintained that the application would be taken up only on March 4.