Rampur (UP), Feb 27: A court in Rampur in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday declared former MP and actor Jaya Prada as an "absconder" in connection with two cases of election code violations and directed the police to arrest her and produce her before it on March 6.
According to senior prosecution officer Amarnath Tiwari, two cases were registered against the former MP from Rampur at Kemari and Swar police stations for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The actor was the BJP candidate from Rampur in the 2019 polls and was defeated by Azam Khan of the Samajwadi Party. She was elected to the Lok Sabha from Rampur in 2004 and 2009 on a Samajwadi Party ticket. The SP expelled her subsequently.
In these cases, the special MP-MLA court had issued summons several times but the former MP did not appear before it.
Subsequently, non-bailable warrants were issued against her seven times, but the police could not produce her before the court.
He said that the police, in its reply filed in the court, said that Jaya Prada was evading arrest and all her known mobile numbers were switched off.
Tiwari said that on this, judge Shobhit Bansal took a tough stance and declared Jaya Prada as an absconder.
The Superintendent of Police of Rampur was ordered to form a team under the leadership of a circle officer and arrest Jaya Prada and produce her in the court on the next date of hearing on March 6.
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Pune (PTI): Hundreds of people blocked the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune to protest the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, leading to traffic disruption on the busy route for about four hours.
The girl's family members and other demonstrators placed the body on the road in the Navale Bridge area on Saturday evening and demanded stringent punishment for the 65-year-old man arrested in the case.
Several videos surfaced showing a huge traffic jam on the highway.
Later, the victim's last rites were performed at the Vaikunt crematorium here shortly after midnight amid tight police security.
The accused man, who works as a labourer and has a criminal record, allegedly lured the girl with the promise of food on Friday in the Bhor tehsil of Pune district. He then took her to a cattle enclosure where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and later killed her by hitting her with a stone, according to the police.
He was arrested based on CCTV footage from a private residence, which captured him with the child.
A case was registered against him under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and he has been remanded in police custody till May 7.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Saturday met the family of the victim, assuring them of strict action against the accused and a fast-track trial.
Describing the incident as "shocking" and a "blot on humanity", Pawar said the government stands firmly with the victim's family and will ensure justice.
She also spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sought a fast-track court trial so that the accused receives the harshest punishment.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde directed Pune rural police to gather concrete evidence to build a watertight case and conduct the trial in a fast-track court.
Efforts should be made to ensure the accused gets the death penalty, a statement quoted Shinde as saying.
