A senior minister in the Uttar Pradesh government has been booked in a case of dacoity in Sambhal.

An FIR was registered against Iqbal Mehmoond and 14 others on Wednesday on the direction of the district court. Sources said that lawyer Nutan Vijay, former president of the district bar council, alleged that he had been robbed of his gold chain and threatened by the goons of the minister in May this year. He claimed Mehmoond was behind the incident.

Vijay and some others had burnt an effigy of Mehmoond, accusing him of not honouring the promises he made to lawyers in the district.

The minister was allegedly enraged by the incident. Vijay had later approached the court to register a case against the minister in this regard. A few days ago, the additional chief judicial magistrate of Sambhal ordered registration of the case against Mehmoond and 14 others.

After initial dilly-dallying, the police on Wednesday finally filed the case. Mehmoond, however, has denied all allegations, claiming, “The case is politically motivated and is a result of political rivalry.”

The Opposition BJP has now demanded the minister’s resignation.  BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak said the case against the minister had been registered on the direction of the court.

“This shows that even ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav cabinet do not have any respect for the law,” Pathak said. The SP leaders, however, said that the law should be allowed to take its own course.