Police in search of BSP MLA, may force his surrender

Lucknow, Jun 14 (UNI) Former Uttar Pradesh Minister and ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Anand Sen is on the run after a local court of Faizabad issued a non-bailable warrant against him in connection with the sensational abduction and murder case of a college girl, Shashi, in October.

Sen, son of BSP Member of Parliament Mitra Sen Yadav, is the second MLA in the ruling party, who has police after him in a criminal case.

''There are possibilities of Anand Sen may surrender before the court early next week,'' official sources said.

A few days ago, another MLA and sacked UP Minister Jamuna Nishad was also arrested in connection with the killing of a police constable in Maharajganj Kotwali premises.

Sen yesterday moved a petition of anticipatory bail in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court just before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Faizabad Shailesh Kumar had issued non-bailable warrant against him.

The HC vacation bench had asked the state government to file a counter affadavit within next one week and fixed the next hearing on June 24.

Meanwhile, the state police after receiving the NBW against the MLA had conducted raids in several places in Faizabad and Lucknow without any luck.

Senior police officials here confirmed that all efforts were being made to arrest the BSP MLA and several teams had been constituted to raid at different hideouts of the accused.

The BSP MLA's counsel Harjout Singh told UNI today that there was no evidence against his client in the case and the petition submitted before the HC was a fit case for the anticipatory bail.

He also said both the accused -- Vijay Sen and Seema Azad -- had not named Sen in the case nor the police had any clinching evidence against him.

Sen, the BSP MLA from Milkipur in Faizabad district, is accused in the murder of Shashi, a dalit student of law in a Faizabad college, on the basis of the interrogation of his driver Vijay Sen and Seema Azad, a friend of her.

On October 22, Shashi disappeared and the FIR lodged by her father Yogendra Kumar, who happens to be associated with BSP founder late Kanshi Ram, accused Sen as the person behind abduction of his daughter.

Sen, who was then Minister of Food Processing in the Mayawati government, was sacked immediately and later the case was handed over to the CBI.

However, the CBI rejected the recommendation of the UP government to take over the case in the final stages and the state police was on the verge of filing the chargesheet in the case.

The police is yet to trace out the body of Shashi even after several efforts in river Gomti at Sultanpur. The police also performed narco-analysis test on Vijay Sen.

On June 8, police had arrested Seema Azad, with whom Shashi was last seen before her disappearance. Pregnency of Shashi was also reported during the investigation.

Earlier, the investigating officer of the case Sharad Chandra Pandey had applied for the NBW against Sen on the basis of the statements of Seema Azad and Vijay Sen and of evidence.

UNI MB/SB SW RAI1451