HC rejects minister's plea seeking to quash FIR against him

Nagpur, July 7 (UNI) Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has dismissed an application of Maharashtra Animal Husbandry Minister Anees Ahmed seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against him under the SC/ST (prevention) Atrocities Act-1989 by one Ulhaas alias Babli Meshram in March in the Sadar police station here.

The Single Bench of Justice Kishor Rohee, while dismissing Mr Anees Ahmed's application, continued interim protection from arrest granted to him for a further period of four weeks to enable him to approach the Supreme Court to avoid his near imminent arrest and possible ouster.

Mr Meshram, who is a close aide of North Nagpur MLA Nitin Raut, in his FIR filed on March 8, 2006, said Mr Ahmed assaulted him and abused him in casteist terms in the premises of the collectorate when he went there to greet collector Sanjay Mukherjee on his birthday.

Mr Ahmed approached the high court after Mr Meshram lodged FIR to avoid his (Ahmed) arrest seeking to quash the FIR.

In his application, Mr Ahmed had charged Meshram and his political mentor Nitin Raut with hatching a conspiracy to falsely implicate him in this case by misusing the provisions of the atrocities Act.

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